Beautiful Creature
by Kate Manoso
Summary: I revamped the first part of this story and then finished it over on Perfectly Plum. Several people have reviewed, so I'm putting it up here as it's been finished.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All characters are solely owned by JE. Our Villain is owned by Quentin Tarantino. Sometimes I can't help but use the same bad guy twice. Even though I previously killed him.

**__**

Beautiful Creature

****

Prologue

I wanted desperately to reach out and touch her. I needed to lace my fingers through her wild brunette curls. Her eyes were the clearest shade of blue that I've ever seen. If you gazed into them, you could feel yourself being pulled in. When she smiled, the whole world lit up for that space of time.

I watched her run by my apartment window, her curls flying in the air behind her. Her cheeks were tinged pink from the physical exertion that she was putting her body through. She moved like a gazelle running through a field. Fluid and graceful. Her white tank top revealed her trim biceps as the swung by her side. The tight denim that wrapped around her legs hinted at her long, perfectly shaped legs.

She is like a black hole. Everything about her sucked you in. She is smart, funny, enigmatic, and sexy. She is the most perfect female specimen.

Watching her, I felt my heart begin to race and my body tighten. Excitement had my breath wheezing in and out in short little pants. I ordered myself to bring it under control. Control is the most vital thing in the world. And control I would have. Control of myself and, eventually, of the exquisitely beautiful creature that I have chosen.

Stephanie Plum. The Bombshell Bounty Hunter. She's perfect for my collection.

****

1. The Fight

My name is Stephanie Plum. I am the Bombshell Bounty Hunter of New Jersey. I no longer mind the moniker. You know what they say. If the shoe fits… Vehicles and buildings have a way of being engulfed in flames when I'm around. It's never technically my fault. It's usually the result of a psycho or a skip.

I currently find myself staring into the flames of yet another burning vehicle. Nothing really all that new for me. I had been running after one of my skips and I had chased him completely around the block that he lived on. When we came back around towards my little black CRV, he pulled a Beretta out of the back of his pants and fired off one shot into the rear quarter panel of my vehicle. I stopped running when my little SUV bounced up in the air and exploded. After all, he had a gun, and I hate being shot at. Plus, I was suddenly sad. That car had actually lasted me three months. I'd gotten really attached to it.

The standard six squad cars, two ambulances, three fire trucks, two black Broncos and one 4-runner sporting a Kojac light all arrived in under five minutes. Not too bad. I stood in the middle of the street and told Carl and Big Dog, two of Trenton's finest, about the chase and how the FTA caused the death of another one of my vehicles. Turns out that Big Dog won the pool this time around. It's a really sad reflection on my life that everyone on the TPD payroll bets on my misfortunes.

Right now, I'm half listening to the tirade that my boyfriend, Trenton Vice cop Joe Morelli, is spewing in my direction. I know that I should be flapping my arms and yelling back. That's what I usually do, but I just don't have the energy for that at the moment. It's four o'clock on a Friday, and I've had a busy week that included twenty-three FTA captures and two distraction jobs. Besides, he was shouting the same old things. Why did he have a girlfriend that blows up vehicles? Why didn't I get a normal job? Better yet, if we got married, I could quit working and start a family. Blah, blah, blah. He was really starting to sound an awful lot like my mother. Not the greatest thought to have about your boyfriend, right?

It was at some point during his tirade, as I weighed the pros and cons of marrying Joe, that I refocused my eyes through the flames of the CRV and stared into a set of dark chocolate eyes. Ranger was standing about thirty feet from the flame ball next to his right hand man, Tank. Ranger is my Cuban-Dream-Sex-God-Mentor and some times employer. I was in the process of examining Ranger's carefully sculpted blank face when Joe's voice snapped me out of my silent inspection.

"Jesus Fucking Christ!" Joe shouted.

I turned my head slightly to the left and looked up at Joe. He had followed my line of sight and was glaring at Ranger. Not that I can really blame Joe for glaring. He thinks that he has competition with Ranger. I guess he missed the 'Burg' gossip. Ranger hasn't come anywhere near me since he got back from his last mission three months ago. I'm not sure what's going on there. Tank's been the one calling me and picking me up for the distractions, and he hasn't told me what's going on. Ranger was the silent type, as well. I may never find out why he pulled away from our friendship.

"I should have known that he'd show up," Joe hissed as he turned back to look at me. "Why is it that my girlfriend attracts every psycho this side of the Mississippi?"

"Watch what you say, Joe," I warned quietly, feeling my own anger starting to boil over. I understand Joe has some animosity toward Ranger, but I don't like his implication that Ranger is a psycho.

Ranger and my job have become sore subjects between the two of us. It had quieted down over the last four months since I sent my last vehicle to car heaven. At that time, Ranger had already been 'in the wind'. Since then, Joe and I had fallen into a comfortable relationship. Until today, that is. I could see our relationship taking a nosedive right in front of my eyes with half of the busybodies of Trenton watching.

"He's the worst of them," Joe continued as he pointed towards Ranger. It was like he never heard me. "Ranger and his whole crew are a bunch of ex-military psychos. They follow you all over town like you're a bitch in heat!"

The next five seconds seemed to take five minutes. My right arm, of its own volition, swung back and then shot forward. I felt a sharp pain shoot through my hand as it connected with Joe's face. Stunned by the fact that I had actually hit Joe, I simply stood there as he fell back on his ass. For once, I didn't feel guilty about hitting someone. My Catholic upbringing would have me fall to my knees and beg for forgiveness. But, I didn't feel the usual pull to do that. I felt justified with my actions. He had said some rather insulting things about people that I consider friends.

While Joe sat on the ground and waited for the stars to clear out of his vision, I fished my keys out of my pocket and removed his house key. It was a little difficult to do since my right hand hurt like a son of a bitch. Once I finally got the key off, I leaned down so that I was eye level with Joe and waited for his eyes to focus on mine.

"It's over, Joe," I said as I dropped the key on the ground next to him. "I hope that we still might be able to be friends. But, honestly, after everything that you just said, I'm not even sure that I want that. You haven't said one decent thing since you jumped out of your SUV. You didn't even ask if I was okay."

"Cupcake-"

"Don't!" I shouted as I waved my left hand to silence him. "I'm done. Go find someone else to be your 'Burg' bitch. Cause I'm withdrawing from that race."

I stood back up, turning to walk over to one of the ambulances to get my hand checked out, and I ran into a black wall. I slowly looked up and smiled at Bobby. He's one of Ranger's quieter men. I've had maybe a handful of conversations with Bobby. From what I can remember of those, he's also _suppose_ to be one of the more gentler guys on Ranger's crew. Without a word, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and steered me to one of the Explorers. He opened the passenger side door for me and shoved me in. Ranger's Merry Men aren't always gentle with me. I chalk it up to them not knowing their own strength.

The ride to the hospital was completely silent. For once, I was actually okay with that. I was still filled with rage over Joe's words, and I didn't want to snap at one of Ranger's employees. Besides, they may hold the same power as Ranger and have the ability to ship people off to third world countries. I really didn't want to wake up in Somalia tomorrow morning.

I had other problems. Big problems. Problems that involved my mother withholding pineapple upside down cake for the rest of my life. A public break up with Joe was the last thing that I really wanted. I was positive that her phone was ringing off the hook at this very moment. I could hear the cabinet door squeak open on the other side of the Burg. Double damn! I pulled my cell phone out and immediately shut it off. I really didn't want to hear it from her, too. Her voice was already nagging me in my mind. Why did she have a daughter that gets her car blown up? Why didn't she settle down and marry Joe? All things that I had just heard shouted out of my now ex-boyfriend's mouth.

Bobby interrupted my thoughts as he yanked me out of the Explorer and hauled me into the emergency room. He pointed at one of the chairs in the corner, and I took a seat as he went and signed me in at the desk. It was at that moment that I actually looked down at my hand. My adrenaline was wearing off and my right hand had started to throb, effectively getting my attention. My knuckles were bright pink. That really didn't worry me all that much. It was the swelling and the discoloration on the back of my hand that was a bit disconcerting.

"Ten minutes," Bobby said as he sat down next to me, his back to the wall.

He gingerly picked up my hand and started examining it. Ranger had once told me that Bobby had been a medic in his ranger unit, so I didn't really mind him taking a look. I leaned over slightly and put my head on his large bicep. The week was wearing on me and he was being really gentle. I felt Bobby tense for a moment, as if he wasn't used to physical contact, before he relaxed. If you can ever say that a Merry Man was relaxed.

It was hard for me to imagine why he had tensed. Bobby was an extremely attractive man in his late twenties. He had thick brown hair and light hazel eyes. His skin tone hinted at a mixture of Mediterranean. I had noticed that he tanned well during the summer. I had seen him playing basketball with some of the other Merry Men a couple of weeks ago at a park just down the street from Ranger's office. He was on the skins team. At that moment in time, he had belonged in the centerfold of Playgirl Magazine. But, let's face it, all of the Merry Men on the court belonged on the pages of that magazine. Or, at least in a calendar.

I closed my eyes and listened to the hustle and bustle of the waiting room as Bobby continued his assessment of my hand. I knew the exact moment that Ranger walked into the room. Every sound just stopped as a slight tingling sensation broke out across the back of my neck. I refused to give him the satisfaction of being ogled by me like the rest of the women in the room and just kept my eyes shut. Bobby was slowly working all of my fingers and when he got to my ring finger, my hand jerked as pain shot through it.

"Ow," I said through clenched teeth.

"Sorry," Bobby said quietly.

"Stephanie Plum?" a female voice called out.

I opened my eyes as I stood up and smiled at a blank faced Ranger. I had to smile because I thought that he would have been amused by the fact that I may have broken my hand hitting Joe. I was.

"I'm not amused," Ranger said quietly. Damn his ESP!

I watched as Ranger turned to Bobby and did some silent communication. My left hand shot out and grabbed Bobby's arm as he turned to leave. Ranger, Tank, and Bobby all turned and looked down at me, silently questioning my actions.

"You two," I said as I looked at Ranger and Tank, "have more important things to do than sit in a hospital with me. I'll keep Bobby and have him give me a ride back to my apartment. You guys don't need to waste anymore time with this."

They started silently communicating again. I heard the female nurse call out for me again. This time her voice was about as frustrated as I was starting to feel. I shook my head as I released Bobby's arm and turned towards the nurse who was holding open one of the double doors that lead back to the emergency room.

"Never mind guys," I said over my shoulder. "I'll just call my dad when they let me out. See ya later."

I ignored Ranger's 'Babe' as I walked past the nurse. She gave me a fake smile and lead the way towards a gurney that sat behind a curtain. It was definitely going to be a long night.

Two hours later, I walked out of the emergency room with half of my hand wrapped in tape. Turns out that I have a light sprain in my right ring finger. The doctor said that I could take the tape off in a few days. In the mean time, my ring finger was taped to my pinkie, totally destroying my favorite Italian hand gesture. Bummer.

I saw Bobby out of the corner of my eye and turned to smile at him. He stood up and walked over to me. Once he was at my side, he gently grabbed my hand and examined it carefully. Evidently he was pleased, because he stuck my hand under his arm and started walking out.

"Would it be possible to hit a drive-thru before you drop me off?" I asked as we walked out to the parking lot.

"Yes."

Was there a mandatory class that you took while in ranger training that taught you how to only use one word sentences? Something to Google when I had some free time. I'm going to have a lot of that for the next week or two. Thank God I had a frantically busy week. I had enough money in my bank account to ride high for four months.

We silently walked over to the Explorer and jumped in. Bobby pulled us out of the parking lot of Saint Frances Hospital and we headed down Hamilton. I tapped his shoulder when two glorious golden arches appeared just down the street. He gave me a slight nod in acknowledgement.

"Big Mac meal. Extra large. Coke," I said as we pulled into the drive-thru.

"Thank you for choosing McDonald's. What can I get for you tonight?" a male voice shouted over the speaker system.

"I need a number one, super size with a Coke," Bobby shouted. I could see a grin start to break across his face.

"Can I get you anything else?"

"Yes. I also need a number two with no onions, super size with a Sprite. Two double cheeseburgers with no onions," Bobby shouted back as he pulled out his wallet.

The kid on the other end shouted out our total and we pulled around the building.

"I'll buy if you let me eat in your apartment," Bobby said with a sheepish smile.

"Deal," I said quickly. I had just realized that my purse had blown up in my car and the only money that wasn't sitting in my bank account was in my cookie jar on the kitchen counter in my apartment.

We grabbed our food from the pimply faced high school kid in the window and drove over to my apartment. I was about to open my door after Bobby got the SUV shut off, but he placed one of his large hands on my shoulder. I turned back to look at him as I released the door handle.

"Secrecy is the key," he said as he pulled a duffle bag from the back seat.

I almost laughed as I watched him separate out our food from the bags. He placed all of my food in one bag and his in another. I took the bag that he offered me, and my soda, and waited for him to get organized. He opened the duffle bag and rearranged the contents to make room for his soda in one corner and his food in the other. He gave me a nod once he was ready and we exited the Explorer.

"Wouldn't someone question the bag?" I said once we were on the elevator in my building.

"The stuff in the bag is for you from Ranger," Bobby said as he gave me a broad grin.

Bobby took my keys and slipped the duffle bag on my shoulder as we walked to my apartment door. He slid through my door, secured all of the dust bunnies, and then gave me the all clear. I smiled as I walked into my apartment. I thought that it was cute that the guys thought that it was necessary to check for stalkers even though I didn't have one at the moment.

I locked the front door and made my way to the kitchen. Bobby met me in the kitchen and took the McDonald's bag and soda from my hand that I had pulled out of the duffle bag. I grabbed some fries out of my bag as I took further inventory of the large black bag that I had sat on my kitchen counter. Three black t-shirts, three black cargo pants, three pairs of black socks, and a pair of black boots. I looked from the clothes that were now sitting on my counter to Bobby, who was leaning against the counter next to me.

"Looks like you're coming back to work at RangeMan," Bobby said, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips.

"It'd be nice if he asked me first," I said as I frowned up at the large man in my kitchen.

"That's Ranger," Bobby said with a shrug.

I grabbed my Big Mac and started to eat it as I stared at the clothes on the counter. Working at RangeMan would definitely keep me from getting bored. Plus, I'd have a paycheck at the end of the week. I'd also get to spend all day looking at really hot guys.

I was brought out of my thoughts when Bobby started choking on one of his double cheeseburgers. His whole face was bright red and he was grinning at me. Shit. I was talking out loud again. I really needed to get control of that. I glared at Bobby when his grin got larger. I wonder if Ranger would be upset if I stunned Bobby.

"Probably," Bobby said as he slid down the counter away from me.

We finished eating in silence. I did my best to keep my thoughts to myself. But, that never really works and I caught Bobby shaking his head a few times. We cleaned up the kitchen and Bobby gave me strict instructions to call him in the morning. He programmed his cell phone number into my phone.

"Don't worry about the cop," Bobby said as I walked him to the door.

"Huh?" I asked eloquently as confusion set in.

"Morelli. Just give him a few days to calm down," Bobby said as he gave me a pitiful look.

"I'm not going back to Joe," I said quietly.

"Sure you will," Bobby said as he patted my shoulder. "You always do."

"Not this time," I said as I shook my head. "He said things that he can't take back."

A confused look crossed Bobby's.

"He insulted my friends," I explained. "He said things that hurt. Things that I'm not going to forgive him for saying."

"I'm really sorry," Bobby said quietly. "Do you need anything?"

"No," I said as I opened the door. "I'm good."

"Don't forget to call me in the morning," Bobby said as he walked out my door.

"I won't," I reassured Bobby before I shut the door and locked up.

I spent about twenty minutes standing under the water in my shower and then washed myself. I battled with my hair to get all of the knots out. Then I fell into bed after I threw on a tank top and shorts. It had been a long day and I was completely beat. Maybe I'd have better luck tomorrow.

****

2. The Flowers

I woke up bright and early this morning. I guess it was due to the fact that I went to bed around nine-thirty last night. I was rather proud of myself that I was able to get my fingers taped back up for another quick shower. I exited my room at seven-thirty dressed and ready to take on the world. Or, at least some searches. I marched into the kitchen and dropped a corner of my pop tart and a grape into Rex's cage as I made some coffee. It wasn't until I leaned against the counter to enjoy my coffee and pop tart that I saw the flowers on my kitchen table.

I edged around the counter and slowly approached my table. The flowers were absolutely beautiful. Lilies, orchids, carnations, and roses. All soft pastel colors. I had seen a similar floral arrangement at the funeral home last week at Jimmy Adam's viewing. Grandma had said that she over heard Jimmy's widow saying that nothing was too good for Jimmy and had spent three hundred dollars on the flowers. I spotted the card resting in the flowers and leaned over the table to get a closer look at the card.

__

My One True Love,

Is your skin as soft and sweet as the petals of a rose?

Will it heat under my hands as they slide over you, in you?

Will it bruise if I hold you too tight?

Soon, I will know.

Okay. So, I have a stalker again. That's okay. I've dealt with this several times before. I just need to call someone, right? Joe's out after yesterday. Ranger's been too distant lately. The cops always laugh and start a pool. Bobby? Yeah. He told me to call him this morning anyway. I pulled my cell out of my pocket and turned it on. A little box popped up alerting me that I had voice messages. I think I'll listen to those after I call Bobby. I scrolled through my contact list and hit the green phone button after I highlighted Bobby's name.

"Brown."

"Hey, Bobby. It's Stephanie," I said, a little quicker than usually. Must be my nerves.

"How's your hand?" Bobby asked.

"It hurts a little," I said, hoping that I didn't sound too whiney. "That's actually not the reason that I'm calling."

"Do you need me to come over?" Bobby asked cautiously.

"I think that it would be a good idea," I said as I nodded my head even though he couldn't see me. "Maybe bring some equipment along."

"Finger print powder?" Bobby asked, fishing.

"Yep," I said smiling into my phone. The guys knew the drill.

"I'll be there in twenty," Bobby said. "Try not to touch anything."

I didn't get the chance to say 'duh' back because he hung up on me. Not that I would expect anything less from a Merry Man. They must have taken a special class on phone etiquette right after the class on one word sentences. Maybe I should see if the military offers an ESP class as well.

I left the flowers alone and went back into the kitchen. I scanned my fridge and found some eggs and bacon. Domestic Stephanie hadn't reared her little head in a while. Maybe it was time to let her out and ignore the messages on my phone. At least long enough for breakfast. I pulled out some pans and started on breakfast. I was just dishing the eggs and bacon on to two plates when there was a knock at my door. I guess Bobby wasn't into B&E like the rest on the Merry Men.

I wiped off my hands with one of my hand towels as I walked over to the door. I checked the peephole and saw Bobby and Cal standing in the hall. I opened the door and stepped back to let the two large men in. They both froze just inside the door. There wasn't a lot of room in my entryway to begin with. Having me, plus two very large men, standing in such a small area was starting to make me claustrophobic.

"What?" I yelled after I started breathing hard.

"Bacon?" Cal asked as he raised an eyebrow down at me.

"I can cook breakfast," I huffed as I pushed Bobby towards the dining area.

Cal followed Bobby and they both stopped short of the table. My apartment always feels smaller when I have more than one Merry Man in it. It's like they take up all of air in the room. I think that being trapped in that box at Stiva's has given me some sort of complex. Something else to Google.

"Creepy," Cal said as he leaned over the table and read the card.

"Did you touch anything?" Bobby asked as he looked back at me.

"I've done this before," I said with a glare at Bobby as I made my way back into the kitchen.

"Ranger's not going to be happy," Cal said softly, not knowing that his softly was really quite loud.

I rearranged the food so that there was enough for three of us and gave a plate to each of the guys. They ate standing up around the table as they eyed the flowers. I handed them both cups of coffee as I took my place next to them standing at the table.

"Did you hear anything last night?" Cal finally asked.

"Nope. I've had a pretty busy week," I said slightly defensive.

"Plus, I took a light pain pill before I went to sleep last night for my hand."

"That's right," Cal said as he smiled down at me. He reached out and lightly picked up my arm. He eyed my hand for a moment and then said, "Nice."

"Thanks," I said awkwardly as I smiled up at him, hoping it was the right thing to say.

I took the guys' empty plates and cups and wandered back into my kitchen. I let them get to work dusting for prints as I cleaned up the kitchen. I leaned against the counter once I was done drying the dishes and watched the guys pack their equipment back up.

"Ranger may want you to stay at RangeMan," Cal said once they were packed up.

"That'll have to be something that Ranger and I discuss later," I said as I stood up and squared my shoulders. I wasn't about to get pushed around. "In the mean time, it'd be really great if you guys could give me a ride to the office."

"It's Saturday, Steph," Bobby said. "Take the day off and rest."

"I'll go crazy if I sit here," I said with a shake of my head. "I'm out of commission for the next week or two."

Bobby and Cal did some silent communication for a minute. They both looked at me at the same time and then back at each other. The silent communication went on for another few minutes and I started fidgeting. I don't do well with silence unless I'm sleeping. I placed my hands behind my back and started playing with my fingers as I waited for the two men in front of me to finish their conversation.

"We'll take you in."

The sound of Bobby's voice in the silence of the room had shocked me. I must have jumped two feet into the air. Both of the guys smiled down at me. I was amusing people again. I really need to work on that. I walked over to the door and opened it, waiting for the guys. Neither one of them moved.

"What?" I asked as I frowned at the two men in my kitchen.

"Don't you need to get ready or something?" Cal asked.

I looked down at myself. I'm dressed. Black cargo pants, black RangeMan t-shirt, black boots. I have my cell phone in my pocket and keys in my hand. Purse blew up in the explosion yesterday. I looked back up at the guys and frowned.

"I am ready."

Both of the guys took a closer look at me.

"No, you aren't," Bobby said.

I looked down again. I know that I'm not missing anything. I pulled the front of my shirt out. I've got a bra on. What am I missing? I looked back up at the guys still frowning.

"You aren't carrying," Cal said, as if he was pointing out the obvious.

"I never carry," I said slightly frustrated.

"You know the rules," Bobby said, a warning tone in his voice.

"Fine," I said as I threw up my hands.

I left my post at the door and walked into my kitchen. I fished my H&K P30 out of my cookie jar and I checked the chamber and the cartridge. Still full. I made sure that the safety was on and slid it into the back of my pants. The guys were evidently satisfied with the gun that was now in the back of my pants because they headed out into the hallway. I locked up, not that it was really going to stop someone, and headed down the hall. I got a chuckle out of Cal when I stopped in front of the elevator.

"You can meet me downstairs if you'd rather take the stairs," I said as I glared at the large man that had a flaming skull tattooed to his forehead.

We walked onto the elevator and I heard the floor creak under the weight of the three of us. I was starting to rethink the elevator idea when the doors closed. Too late to take the stairs. I held my breath as the elevator started slowly going down. I released my breath as the elevator settled down on the first floor. My left arm reflexively shot out and hit Bobby when my ears picked up his soft chuckle.

"Sorry," Bobby said once he was able to calm himself.

The three of us marched out to the black Explorer that was parked in the closest parking slot to the back door. I always have envied Ranger and his men for always being able to get the best parking spots. It just wasn't fair. Plain and simple. Cal boosted me into the back seat and climbed up front with Bobby behind the wheel.

There were already files in my 'in' box when I got to the cubicle that the guys had designated as mine. I listened to my messages as I did my first search. Pretty much the usual griping from my mother. So and so's daughter never blows up vehicles. Get a new job. Marry Joe and pop out a few kids. Pretty much the same thing that Joe had yelled at me yesterday. I cleared out my voice mailbox and shut my phone off. I didn't really want to hear any more of it.

The rest of the day went by without any incidents. During lunch, Cal had dropped off a set of keys for me to a Bronco and programmed his cell number into my phone. I tried to object to the Bronco, but he said that I should use it until Friday. He had the day off and he said he'd take me car shopping. After due consideration, I thought that taking Cal along to buy a vehicle wasn't such a bad idea. He was fairly intimidating and he'd probably be able to get me a halfway decent car. Before he left my cubby, he instructed me to call him first thing tomorrow morning. I only agreed because he was staring down at me with soft eyes after I hesitated. It was weird, but I found myself agreeing. After he left, I decided that the look that he had given me would have probably gotten me to agree to jump off a bridge.

I said my 'goodbye's around four and motored over to my bank. Thankfully they had started up Saturday hours and my cousin worked the counter. I still needed to get down to the DMV for a new license.

I hit Burger King on my way home. I lounged on the couch and watched Ghost Busters as I ate my Whopper. Other than the flowers, not too bad of a day. I snuggled down into my couch with a blanket and promptly fell asleep at seven o'clock.

****

3. The Nighty

My eyes popped open and I glared at the alarm clock. Ten A.M. Shit! Hold the phone. Why am I in bed? I know that I fell asleep in the living room. I slowly sat up and my mouth fell open as my blanket dropped away from my body. I was wearing a light blue nighty that I've never seen before. I looked around my room and saw rose petals scattered across the floor. This is so not good.

I grabbed my cell of the night stand, not where I last set it down, and flipped it open. Five missed calls. I quickly went through the missed calls. Bobby three times and Cal twice. I never heard my phone ring? I jumped slightly when my phone started ringing in my hand. Ranger.

"Yo," I said answering.

"Are you okay?" Ranger asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"I'm not sure," I said as I scooted over to the edge of my bed. "Did you come over last night?"

"Babe."

What was I thinking? Of course I'd know if Ranger came over last night. I'd have been naked from head to toe and feel a lot better than I was at the moment. I feel really nauseous. My stomach flipped over as my feet touched the floor. I kept an iron grip on my phone as I ran to the bathroom with my hand over my mouth. I just barely made it to the toilet before everything that I've ever eaten in my life came up my throat. There were things floating in the toilet that I didn't even recognize. That's really not good.

"Babe!" Ranger shouted from my phone that was now sitting on the floor next to me.

"I need Bobby," I whispered once I got the phone up to my ear. "Tell him to dust his way in."

"What are you talking about, Babe?" Ranger asked tightly.

"Someone was in my apartment last night," I said after I threw up again. "I fell asleep in the living room last night in my RangeMan uniform. I woke up this morning in bed wearing something I've never seen before."

I listened to the silence for a moment before I looked down at my phone. Bastard! He hung up on me. Again. If I didn't feel so shitty, I'd yell at him for that. I spent the next ten minutes puking my guts out some more. Where in the hell is all of this stuff coming from?

I felt a wave of relief wash through me when I heard the locks tumble on my front door. I couldn't hear anything. But, knowing Ranger, there were at least five men dressed in black stalking around my tiny apartment. I was resting my head on my arms that were lying across the toilet seat as I knelt in front of the toilet, when I felt a gentle hand touch my shoulder.

"How long have you been throwing up for?" Bobby asked in a quiet voice.

"Ask Ranger. He was on the phone with me when I started," I whispered.

"Try not to move to much," Bobby whispered. "I just want to check out your arms."

I surrendered my right arm as Bobby lightly tugged on it. He twisted it around a few times as he ran his fingers slowly up and down my arm. He let me have it back after he spent a minute massaging my upper arm. It hurt, but I didn't want to complain in the presence of the big boss. I knew that Ranger was just outside my bathroom door. I could feel his eyes on my skin.

"I want to take you back to RangeMan, Steph," Bobby finally said after he rubbed my back for a minute. "Would that be okay?"

"Yeah," I whispered as I tilted my head to the side and looked into his eyes.

Bobby actually looked concerned. This was big. The guys never showed me any emotion other then amusement. I slowly lifted my head and felt the world start to spin. I reached out and grabbed Bobby to hold on to for dear life. This was all very wrong.

"It's okay, Steph," Bobby said as he held my hand. "You've been drugged. I need to get you back to the office so that I can take some blood to try to figure out what they injected you with."

"You may have to drug me to get me there," I said, trying to joke.

My attempt to lighten the mood didn't go over well. Bobby's eyebrows furrowed together and he looked beyond pissed that I could joke at a time like this. It's part of the Land of Denial. Try your best to make light of a situation that seriously scares the shit out of you. I looked over Bobby's shoulder and saw Ranger standing in the doorway. Blank face all the way.

"I'm going to find you something else to wear," Bobby said after a moment. "I want you to take off all of your clothes and leave them here on the floor."

I nodded in response, but never tore my eyes from Ranger. He moved slightly back to let Bobby out of my small bathroom. I watched his eyes start to soften as he moved back to lean in the doorway as he rested his head on the doorframe. He looked sad for a moment before he became a man and let his eyes wander down my body to take a better look at the nighty that I was in. There was a split moment where I saw his eyes go black and then lighten back up to their usual dark brown as he looked at me. I guess he liked the outfit. Other than the fact that it was something that was purchased by a psycho.

"Here," Bobby said shoving clothes into Ranger's hands. "Give her a hand. She might be too weak to do it on her own."

I watched Bobby disappear out of my room as my bedroom door closed, shutting out the rest of the apartment. Ranger stood frozen in the doorway for a moment staring down at the clothes in his hands. I could see a smile twitching at the corners of his lips as he fingered the thong that was lying on top. Oh! My! God! Bobby went through my underwear drawer! I'd never be able to look him in the eyes again. I felt my face start to heat up as embarrassment set in.

"Maybe you could hand me my toothbrush?" I said quietly, stalling.

"Yeah," Ranger said as he stuffed the clothes under his arm and moved to the sink.

I took the toothbrush from him and shoved it into my mouth, crossing my fingers that it would be enough to wipe away vomit breath. Ranger slowly pulled me to my feet as I brushed my teeth. It seemed to be that the higher my head got, the more it hurt. I kept my hand clamped down over my eyes in order to keep them from falling out from the overwhelming pressure that was building in my head.

"Deep breaths, Babe," Ranger whispered in my ear as he leaned in close.

I felt my hands start to shake as I tried hard to do as he said.

Panic flooded my body as realization set in. My apartment had been broken into. I had been drugged. Someone carried me from my living room and placed me in my bed. That same person had undressed me and put a nighty on me that they had purchased for me. On top of that, after they got me changed, they sprinkled rose petals all over my room like they were courting me.

Underneath the panic was a sense of urgency to get out of my apartment. I spit in the sink and quickly rinsed my mouth. Yanking the nighty off over my head and sliding my underwear down, I snatched the clothes out from under Ranger's arm and, faster than I ever thought possible, got dressed. Ranger had slowly backed up as I let the urgency push out the fear. He was standing just outside my bathroom as I quickly brushed passed him. I threw my bedroom door open and ran out of my apartment to the hall.

I got halfway down the hall before two arms came around my waist and stopped me. I spun around in the arms and buried my face in the black chest that was there. The dam that had been holding back my tears finally broke as my entire body started shaking. I heard soft Spanish words being muttered in my ear as slow, lazy circles were being drawn on my back. It wasn't until my sobs subsided to hiccups that I realized he was no long speaking Spanish to me. I leaned my head back and smile up at Ranger because he sounded like a Bushman. He was standing there looking down at me as he made simple sounds with his tongue.

"I just wanted to see you smile," he whispered with a hint of his beautiful smile tugging at his lips.

I let out a whoosh of air as I wiped my eyes with the back of my hands. Was Ranger really joining me in Denial Land? It was really funny because that's not where I wanted him to be. I wanted him to tell me that I wasn't safe at my apartment alone. I wanted him to take me back to RangeMan and lock me up. I wanted out of here. I needed him to help me.

"Thanks," I said as I looked back up at him. "But, I need Ranger back."

He smiled at me for a moment, just standing there with his arms still wrapped around my waist. Without warning, blank Ranger reared his ugly head as he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I had to slam my eyes shut to keep myself from throwing up as he ran with me over his shoulder down the stairs and out of my apartment building. He didn't stop until we reached a black Explorer that was sitting, idling, in the parking lot. He set me down on my feet and wrenched the back door open.

"Take her to the office," Ranger said flatly. "Do. Not. Let. Her. Out. Of. Your. Sight."

Ranger shoved me into the back and I almost landed in Hector's lap. Not the most comfortable situation since I didn't know anything about him other than his name and that he didn't speak English. I crawled off his lap as the door was slammed and the SUV pealed out of the parking lot. I looked into the front as I heard rapid Spanish being fired out. Lester was being the wheel and shouting over the music blaring over the speakers at a deafening level. I decided to ignore the language that was being tossed from the front seat to the back. I focused everything that I had on the music to block out my sudden urge to puke as Lester took a corner on two wheels. I knew the words, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember the music group. As the Queen of Denial, and because I do it so very well, I soon found myself singing along with the words. It was therapeutic. I didn't feel like sobbing or vomiting. At least for the moment.

"They've found a way to kill me yet. Eyes burn with stinging sweat. Seems every path leads me to nowhere. Wife and kids, household pet. Army green was no safe bet. The bullets scream to me from somewhere," I sang. "Yeah, they come to snuff the Rooster."

"Yeah, here comes the Rooster," Lester sang with me.

I looked up and met his eyes in the rear view mirror. I saw Hector hang his head and shake it sadly. Lester was grinning like a total fool. I slouched back in my seat and sang the rest of the song with him as we cruised to Haywood. Lester seemed to fit right in to Denial Land. He looked quite content to kick the volume up a little louder as he weaved through traffic, singing at the top of his lungs. I was totally starting to feel better until we pulled into the RangeMan garage.

As soon as my feet hit the concrete, my knees buckled as my hand flew to my mouth. A bucket appeared out of nowhere on the ground under my face. By now it was just stomach acid and dry heaves. I heard Lester's soft voice in my ear. I think that he picked up Ranger's little trick as he started rubbing slow circles over my back. The words weren't important, it was just the sound of his voice.

I felt two hands slid under my armpits, and I was hauled off the ground and carried to the elevator. I snuggled into the warm chest, not particularly caring who was carrying me at that moment, and took a deep breath. The unmistakable sent of Lester filled my nose. Old Spice mixed with his smell, that smell that all men carry that is their own.

Hector started softly spitting Spanish at Lester. It wasn't the words that caught my attention. It was his tone of voice. He sounded cold. I pulled my head out of Lester's chest and looked up at Hector who was towering over us. The look on his face was pure murder and he was shooting it right at Lester. I looked up at Lester to gauge his reaction to whatever it was that Hector was saying and noticed that he was looking slightly pale. He said something to Hector. It was so quiet that I almost didn't hear his voice. I looked back over at Hector when I felt a second pair of arms come around me. I was lifted out of Lester's arms and settled against Hector's chest. I didn't get the chance to try to find out what was going on because the elevator doors opened and Hector literally kicked Lester out of the elevator. Regret was written all over Lester's face as the doors closed on him.

We exited the elevator on the fourth floor and Hector carried me down to the end of the hall. He repositioned me in his arms so that he could open the door to Bobby's apartment. He walked us into the dark apartment and shut the door behind us.

"You have to forgive Lester, Chiquita," Hector said quietly as he turned on a light in the living room.

My mouth dropped open as I looked up at the large Hispanic man that was still holding me. He speaks English! He's been holding out on me! Then it hit me.

"What was he saying to me in the garage?" I asked slowly.

He seemed to think it over for a moment. Like he was trying to choose his words. He walked us over to the couch and sat me down. I patiently sat on the couch as he walked over to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water.

"He said some rather lewd comments about what he would like to do to your body," he said as he handed me a bottle.

"While I was dry heaving?" I asked, slightly shocked.

Hector just nodded his head.

"That's just wrong," I said as I screwed up my face after I took a long drink from the bottle in my hands. "On so many levels."

There was a knock at the door and then it slowly opened. Bobby gave me a small smile as he stepped into the apartment and closed the door. He looked tense as he grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge before he walked over and sat next to me on the couch. I watched him take a long drink, looking at him expectantly. Bobby turned to Hector and said something to him in Spanish. They held a short conversation that ended with Hector throwing his arms in the air and storming out of the apartment.

"Sorry," Bobby said as he turned to me. "I thought that you may not want a lot of people around for this."

"Around for what?" I asked cautiously.

"We need to find out if anything was done to you while you were drugged."

****

4. Nothing's Right

I stared at Bobby for a moment as his words sunk in. _Oh, God! _my mind screamed. _He wants to do a rape kit! _I felt the back of my eyes start to burn as the seriousness of the situation really hit me. They could have done anything to me while I was drugged. I looked straight into Bobby's eyes and felt Denial Land start to crumble around me. I had been holding on to in by a very thin thread and it was slipping through my fingers.

"I have an office down on the third floor," Bobby said gently as he put a hand on my shoulder. "We can do it down there. You won't have to go to the hospital to have it done."

"Okay," I whispered as a tear rolled down my cheek.

"Do you want me to get Ella?" Bobby asked. "Or, maybe Lula or Connie?"

I shook my head and looked down at my hands. My throat started to close and I just barely got out, "I want Ranger."

"Let's get you down stairs and I'll call him before we get started," Bobby said as he gently pulled me up with him. "I'd like to take some pictures first. If that's okay with you."

I just nodded as I wrapped my arms around my chest. I didn't want to do this. I really just wanted to jump in the shower and slip into a bed with a row of Merry Men just outside the door. _How was I ever going to feel safe again? _I thought as I let Bobby lead me from his apartment to the elevator, keeping his arm around my shoulder as we moved. He pulled his phone out as we rode down the elevator and made a short call.

"You're needed… Third floor… Ten-four."

That was the extent of the conversation from Bobby's side. The doors of the elevator opened and we stepped out into the hallway. There were six doors on the right side of the hall and five on the left. I ignored all of them as I stared down at the ground while Bobby led me down the hall. He took me down to the end and opened the last door on the left. I swung my eyes up as we walked in and froze in the door way. It looked like a full blown doctor's office. Crappy doctor's bed and all. It even felt like a doctor's office, cold and sterile.

"Just relax, Bomber," Bobby said as he guided me into the room. "We'll take everything nice and slow."

I nodded slightly and blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall. Bobby pointed over at the bed and I walked over and sat down as he shut the door. I watched him as he walked over to a counter and started getting himself organized. He opened a couple of drawers and pulled out several things. Two pairs of gloves, a syringe, two vials for blood, and a package that I couldn't clearly see. He turned to me as he slid a pair of gloves on.

"Let's go ahead and draw some blood while we wait for Ranger," he said as he walked over to me and examined my arms.

He found a good vein on my left arm and wiped it down with an alcohol wipe. I watched him tie an elastic band around my arm and tap the vein a few times to get it to rise. My eyes closed as the needle slid into my arm. I practiced deep breathing as Bobby filled the two vials as quickly as he could, sensing my discomfort. My eyes slowly opened and locked with Ranger's as Bobby withdrew the needle and held a cotton swab to the puncture sight.

The next hour was spent mostly in complete silence. I took off my t-shirt and jeans, blushing slightly when I noticed that in my haste to leave my apartment I hadn't zipped or buttoned up. I left my sports bra and thong on while Bobby took, what seemed to be, a million pictures of my body from every angle. Bobby had said that we would have to go over the pictures so that I could tell him what was new in the bruising department.

Bobby and Ranger slipped out of the room after Bobby had handed me a gown and small sheet. He said that I could put my shirt back on and that I needed to remove my thong for the examination. I called them back in once I got myself situated on the bed. Ranger pulled a chair over to the head of the bed as I laid back.

"You've been really quiet," Ranger said when he saw the discomfort of the examination cross my face.

"Just thinking," I said as I stared up at the ceiling.

"About…"

"It doesn't make any sense," I said quietly as I turned my head to look at him. "Rapists drug people to take advantage of them. Stalkers drug people to move them."

We settled back into silence as I watched Ranger think about what I had just said. His lips tipped up after a moment as he reached out and tucked a stray curl behind my ear, his fingers lingering a little longer than necessary. My own lips twitched as I felt a sense of comfort in his touch, instead of the rush of excitement that I had usually felt.

"Okay," Bobby said as he lowered the sheet over my legs. "I'm going to get to work on this over in the lab."

"Thanks, Bobby," Ranger said quietly, his eyes still locked with mine.

"Not a problem, boss," Bobby said as he slipped out the door, shutting it quietly behind him.

"Are you okay?" Ranger asked after a moment of neither one of us moving.

"Yeah," I whispered. "Just a little drained."

"Ella's got an apartment set up for you on the fourth floor. Number four," he said quietly as he scooted his chair back to distance himself. "Why don't you head up and take a shower and a nap. I'll get you if Bobby or the guys come up with anything."

I just nodded as I slowly sat up. It hurt that he so quickly pulled himself back from me. But, this was Ranger that we're talking about, and I hadn't really expected anything different. None the less, the pain was still there and it saddened me. What had happened to him that had forced him to keep himself so distant? More closed off than he had been before he left for his last mission? It was something that had been quietly nagging me in the back of my mind.

I mindlessly pulled my clothes back on while Ranger waited for me at the door. I fumbled with the button on my jeans, but was able to get it after a minute. An uncomfortable silence hung between us as we walked down the hall and rode the elevator up one floor. The doors opened and I exited the elevator alone. I didn't look over my shoulder as I walked down the hall towards my temporary apartment. Tears threatened to fall when, instead of hearing him walk behind me, I heard the elevator close. It was just further proof that the distance between us was so large.

I walked into the apartment and went straight into the bathroom. I was thankful that Ella had left some tape for me on the bathroom counter. I shucked my clothes and unwrapped my hand. Thirty minutes later, I exited the bathroom wrapped up in a robe that had been hanging on the hook on the back of the door and smelling like Bulgari. Ella knew me well. She knew what it would take to make me feel better.

After hunting through the fridge, I found a couple of plates that had been covered with foil and labeled with heating instructions and fixings for sandwiches. The clock on the microwave said two o'clock, but I was completely wiped out. I ate a turkey sandwich and then headed towards the bed. It was en route to the bed that I noticed a laptop and printer set up on the coffee table in the living room. I bent over and read the note that was taped to the screen.

__

In case you get bored.

Rodriguez

More like he's drowning having to do his own searches. But, I couldn't help the smile that slowly spread across my lips as I sat down on the couch in front of the laptop and flipped open the first search. I opened the search programs and started the search. My eyes wandered around the apartment and I saw another note stuck to the CD player on the other side of the room. I stood up and walked over to the CD player and looked down at the note.

__

Sorry about the garage.

Lester

That doesn't get him out of the dog house. But, it was kind of sweet. I hit the play button and walked over to the dresser for some clothes as music filled the little apartment. I'm not the biggest Marilyn Manson fan. But, I decided to let the CD play out to see if any of the songs caught my attention. I fought my way through getting dressed and ended up giving up after two of the six buttons on my cargos. I checked the drawer and found that all of the pants in the dresser were button up. In the end, I ditched the cargos for a pair of running shorts. Ella had a sick sense of humor when she purchased these for me. I mean, come on. Me running? Only after a skip.

I took a break from the searches around five and rooted through the fridge again. I pulled out a plate of grilled chicken with rice and popped it into the microwave as I sang along with Marilyn. I had set the CD player on repeat after the CD had run its full course the first time. There were a few songs that were starting to grow on me. Dinner was eaten in front of the laptop. I opened a blank word document and started listing all of the crazy skips that I had taken in lately. I had gotten to about six months back and realized that I had four pages of crazies. I stopped there and printed out three copies after I titled it 'Steph's Crazies'.

By eight I was done with the ten searches that Rodriguez had left for me, so I thought that I should take them up to the fifth floor. I slipped on a pair of hot pink bunny slippers that I had found by the bed and gathered up my paper work. I left the apartment and took the stairs up one floor. Ranger came walking out of his office as I walked out of the stairwell. Someone in the com room was a snitch.

"What are you doing?" Ranger asked as he met me in the middle of the cubicles that took up most of the fifth floor.

"Rodriguez left me some work," I said as I held up the files. I pulled out two of the sets of names that I had brought down with me and handed it over to Ranger as I said, "This is for you and Tank."

Ranger looked down at the papers and his lips threatened to twitch as he started reading his way down the list. I left Ranger standing in the middle of the cubbies and made my way over to Rodriguez's. His cubby was empty, so I set the files down next to his computer and left a little note on the top one.

__

I'm at your service for the next few weeks.

Steph

I added a little smiley face that winked at the bottom. Satisfied, I left his cubby and headed over to mine. I grabbed the fifteen files that were sitting in the 'in' box and headed back over to Ranger, who was still making his way through the list. I stood in front of him, silently waiting for him to finish. His lips twitched for a brief moment and then broke into a full grin as he went over the last page.

"Nice slippers," Ranger said, amused.

"Ella," I said in way of explanation.

"Do you think she could find them in black?" he asked as he put the papers under his arm and looked down at my feet.

"This is Ella we're talking about," I said as I looked down at the bunnies. "She can find anything."

"Something to keep in mind for later reference," Ranger said as he looked back up and into my eyes. "How are you holding up?"

"The searches that Rodriguez left and the CD from Lester helped a lot," I said, smiling as his eyebrow rose at the mention of Lester's name.

"Don't let those keep you up all night," he said, nodding at the files under my arm.

"I won't," I said with a nod.

Sensing that the conversation had run its course, I turned around and headed out of the cubbies. I stopped by the control room and stuck my head in. Hal and Cal were on duty. I smiled and waved at both of them when they turned and looked at me. I caught their nods and headed to the elevator. My neck and back were both sore and I was definitely ready for bed. I was just crossing my fingers that I'd be able to fall asleep with the knowledge that there would be no way that a crazy could get to me here.

****

5. A Merry Man In My Bed

Every time I closed my eyes, my mind would fill with distorted memories of _him_. The sharp pinch in my arm followed instantly by the inability to move. The way his fingers moved through my hair, almost lovingly. His hands slowly caressing my body as he removed my clothes. The way that his deep, husky voice filled my head as he whispered in my ear. Then, the promise of another night as he left.

I was curled up in a ball with my arms over my head in the corner of my room, tears flowing down my face, as a sob escaped my lips. It felt like my world was caving in on me. The fear that was racing through my body was causing me to shake. I couldn't control anything. There was no way for me to push all of my feelings into a little box and lock it all away like I had so many times before.

My head jerked up as my apartment door flew open. Within seconds, Cal was right by my side, his arms wrapped around my shoulders. His grip tightened as another sob escaped my lips. I heard voices out in the hall outside my door. Someone whispered 'Cal's got this' before the door was quietly shut.

"It's okay, Bomber," he whispered in my ear as he gently rocked me. "I've got you."

I crawled into his lap as he sat down on the floor, desperate for something solid to hold on to. His fingers came up and laced into my hair as he held my head to his chest. My arms wrapped around him as I buried my face into the smooth skin on his chest. I listened as his wildly beating heart slow, slowing mine at the same time, as his head came down to rest on top of mine. He held me through the shaking and sobbing, like it was something that he had done every day.

"Thank you," I whispered once the sobs subsided into hiccups.

We stayed there, silently on the floor, in each other's arms. He allowed me to hold on to him as if he were my lifeline. It had been the only peace that my mind had found since I had woken up this morning. I felt him shift under me as he lifted us up off the floor and walked over to my bed. He positioned himself leaning against the wall and settled me back into his lap as he pulled the comforter up over us.

"Try to sleep," he whispered. "I've still got you."

Try as I might, sleep evaded me. I just sat there, wrapped around Cal, and listened to the steady beat of his heart. Knowing that no one would get to me tonight did nothing to calm the fear that laced through my heart. I finally pulled away from him as the first light of the rising sun spilled into my room.

"Are you going to be okay?" Cal asked quietly as I crawled off the bed.

"Someday," I whispered as I slipped into my bathroom.

I leaned against the door to close it and stood in the pitch-black room for a moment. The truth was that I didn't know if I'd ever be okay again. I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror as I flipped the light on. The dark circles under my eyes and my wild curls made for a very scary picture. I peeled off my clothes and unwrapped my fingers. I let the hot water work over my stiff muscles, slowly loosening them up. I took a little extra time to shave while I let my conditioner sit in my hair.

My hair cooperated somewhat and, after a good long look in the mirror, I decided that today was definitely a full-blown make-up day. I grabbed the make-up bag off of the counter and peeked inside. Ella truly is a Godsend. She had everything that I use. Down to the brand.

Eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, lots of foundation, and powder later, I exited my bathroom wrapped in a towel to find Ranger and Cal sitting in my apartment. Cal was still laying back in my bed, and Ranger looked like he was on the verge of killing someone. Mainly Cal. I walked over to my dresser and started pulling out clothes. Black RangeMan tank top, black cargos, black underwear, black bra, and black socks. I didn't spare the guys a glance as I walked back into my bathroom to get dressed.

"Explain," Ranger demanded in a tight voice as I exited my bathroom and walked to the fridge.

"Bad night," I said with a shrug as I stuck my head in the fridge.

"So you crawled in bed with one of my men?" Ranger hissed.

My head jerked at the tone of his voice, and I smacked it on the edge of the fridge, causing the whole thing to shake. I rubbed the back of my head as I pulled it out and turned to face Ranger. His stance was tense. His face was dark and blank. I thought that maybe I should say 'yes' just to see what his reaction would be. But, then I thought about the gun that was sitting in his utility belt and the half naked Merry Man in my bed. Ella probably wouldn't be too impressed if she had to clean up a lot of blood.

"Nothing happened, Ranger," I said with a sigh as I turned back to the fridge. "He heard me crying and came in to see if I was okay. Cal was just being nice and sat with me while I cried all over him."

I grabbed two bottles of water and two apples out of the fridge before closing the door. I walked passed Ranger and gave Cal one of the apples and a bottle of water. He smiled up at me as he took a large bite out of the apple and winked. I ruffled his thick brown hair and watched his face light up with a simple, pure joy that reminded me of a little boy. I flashed him a quick smile before I turned to face Ranger.

He was still standing in the middle of the living area. None of the tension had left his body. In fact, he looked more tense. Like the small interaction between Cal and I had upset him even more. I felt my eyebrows knit together as I frowned at him. There was nothing going on between Cal and I, and Ranger was acting as if I was sleeping with him. A bit strange since Ranger was keeping his distance.

"Have the guys found out anything?" I finally asked as I tore my eyes from their lock with Ranger's to move to the couch in front of the laptop that I was using.

"Meeting at nine on the fifth floor," Ranger said before he turned around and walked out of my apartment, slamming the door shut on his way out.

"What's going on with you two?" Cal asked after the silence drug out.

I tore my eyes away from the closed door and looked at the Merry Man that was sitting in my bed. I have to admit that I'd be pissed if I walked into Ranger's apartment and found a half naked woman in his bed. But, at the same time, it was irritating because he kept pulling out of whatever it was that was going on between us.

"Got me," I said with a shrug as I peered at the clock on the microwave.

I had two hours before the meeting. I flipped open the first file as I bit into my apple. The face that stared up at me sent a chill up my spine. The pale blue eyes that looked at me were haunting. The lack of any emotion in his eyes set off my Spidey Senses immediately. I picked up the second picture and held it up so that I could get a better look. I could tell that the picture had been taken outside of Shorty's. He was wearing a white tank top that showed off carefully chiseled arms and pecks. The shirt clung to his impressively flat abs. Faded jeans that hugged a perfectly tight ass, and black boots finished off his attire. He actually looked like a Merry Man in disguise. I pulled out the request form from the file to see what was needed.

The form had been filled out by my request master. Rodriguez. The form indicated that they were looking at hiring him as a contractor to test security systems. His specialty was breaking and entering. I flipped through the rest of the thin file and saw reports from a parole officer and a rap sheet about a mile long. My senses were going crazy, but I typed his name into two search programs anyways. Vic Vega.

"You look like you're doing okay. So, I'm going to get back to my room," Cal said as he climbed off of my bed.

"Thanks, Big Guy," I said as I looked over.

I almost started drooling at the sight of him. One hundred percent pure muscle in black boxer shorts that were hanging dangerously low on his narrow hips. Yummy. He grinned at me when my eyes finally reached his. Damn. I'd been caught openly gawking at a Merry Man.

"Your secret is safe with me, Bomber," Cal said with a wink as he moved past me and slid out the door.

Mental note to self: Get. Laid. Soon.

I let the search continue on its own as I stood up and walked over to the fridge. I made a bowl of cereal and ate it over the kitchen sink, thinking about the coming meeting and Ranger's odd behavior. I was drawn out of wondering what happened on Ranger's last mission as the door to my apartment opened. Lester came strolling in, like it was his place, and flopped down on the couch.

"I'm still mad at you for whispering lewd comments in my ear while I was dry heaving," I said, trying my hardest to keep the threatening smile off of my face.

"My present didn't help?" he asked with a pout.

"I need one more present to allow you amnesty," I said as rinsed out my bowl and sat it down in the sink. I turned around and leaned back. "I'm thinking I need somewhere else to crash."

"What's wrong with here?" Lester said as he leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. "It's the safest place in Trenton."

"Physically, yes," I walked over to the couch and sat down next to him. "But not emotionally. I've gotta get out of here, and I need a place to crash."

"I can get you into a safe house."

"No safe houses," I said with a shake of my head. "I know that you have a place on the outside of town."

"I don't want to die," Lester said as he leaned back on the couch and waved his hands defensively.

"You won't die," I chided.

"You missed the action in the com room a minute ago."

"What are you talking about?" I asked as I looked down at my laptop to check the status on my search that I'd left running.

"Ranger hit Binkie."

"What?" I shouted as my head whipped up.

"Ranger walked out of the stairwell and hit the first person he came across," Lester said with a sad shake of his head. "Poor bastard never saw it coming."

I gasped. "Is Binkie okay?" I asked as I ran my hand through my hair.

"Black eye," Lester said quietly. "So, there ain't no way that I'm letting you crash at my house. I like my face."

"I like your face, too," I admitted cheekily. I sobered after a moment and said, "Does he realize how insane he's acting?"

"Probably not," Lester said with a shrug. "You need to fix this before anymore of us get hurt. Binkie hasn't been the first to get hit over you."

"I don't understand," I whispered as I held my head in my hands as I rested my elbows on my knees. "He's been keeping me a mile away since he got back three months ago."

"None of us know what happened to him while he was gone," he said as he reached out and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Whatever it was, it wasn't good. He won't even talk to Tank about it. Maybe you should try."

"I wouldn't even know where to start," I said as I lifted my head up to look at him.

"You'll figure it out when the time comes," Lester said with a little squeeze of my shoulders. "Until then, you're staying here. Call me if you need someone to sit up with tonight."

"Thanks," I said as I gave him a small smile.

I watched him get up and leave my apartment, feeling drool slide down my chin as I stared at his perfect butt walk away. The guys are like a bunch of hens. Gossip around here spreads like a wild fire on a breezy day. I was positive that everyone in the building knew that Cal had spent all night in my room. I pushed away the irritation that was starting to build over being a headline in the gossip department and turned my attention back to my laptop.

Both searches had completely run their course. I printed out the information that came up and slipped on my boots while I waited. I wanted to head up to the fifth floor to see what was going on and grab anymore searches that had accumulated in my 'in' box overnight. I grabbed the papers out of the printer and threw them in the folder. I had bent over to turn off the laptop when I noticed a CD sitting next to it on the coffee table. I picked up the CD and flipped it over. _Play number five _was written on the cover and that just got my curiosity juices flowing.

I skipped through the CD once I got it into the player and turned the volume up as the song started up. The voice was singing about a woman leaving before he got the chance to say anything that might get her to stay as a drum and guitar played in the back ground. About wanting a second chance to make things right. I sat on the floor in front of the speakers and listened to the whole song. It was slightly alternative and the only one that I knew that listened to this type of music was Hal. But, why would he leave this for me? I looked down at the CD case and suddenly recognized Ranger's handwriting. God, he must have left it here this morning when he found Cal in my bed. I listened to the song one more time, puzzling at Ranger's intent on leaving the song for me. I finally shook my head and abandoned the stereo, still trying to get the full meaning, before I left the apartment and headed up to the fifth floor.

****

6. Stun Guns and Black ops Missions

I rode down the elevator, lightly bobbing my head to the song that was running through my mind. The door opened, and I made my way over to Rodriguez's cubicle. He nodded his head over to the chair that sat next to his desk while he finished up his phone call. I flipped my file open and started going over the paperwork that I had compiled. He quickly slammed down his phone and started furiously typing away on his computer.

I settled down into my seat and fell into the world of Vic Vega. It didn't seem right that RangeMan was looking at hiring a man that had such a long history of criminal activity. I felt really uncomfortable every time I looked at the pictures of him. It was an unsettling feeling in my gut. There just wasn't something right with this picture.

"What?"

My head flew up and I looked at Rodriguez. His soft amber eyes were showing little signs of concern as he reached out and took the pictures from my hands. He looked at the photos for a moment and then back up at me, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"It's probably nothing," I said as I snatched the picture back.

He swiveled his chair and leaned back to look at me. The thick black lashes that framed his eyes lowered slightly as he looked me up and down. I've always crumbled under the scrutiny of a Merry Man. Active field op or computer geek, they all had the ability to see something below the surface.

"Tell me about Mr. Vega," he finally said as his eyes locked with mine.

"This guy is fishy," I said, caving. "Why on earth would you want to hire a guy that worked for Nice Guy Eddie? He was playing with some big people out in California."

"Nice Guy Eddie isn't really that big," Rodriguez said, a hint of amusement playing at the corners of his lips.

I had heard of Nice Guy Eddie. That meant he was big to me. He ranked right up there with Harry the Hammer and Alexander Ramos. They had all been known to be the top gentlemen in their line of work. But, gangsters are gangsters and they all have mean streaks.

"If you laugh, I will stun you," I warned as I saw a wide grin appear across his lips.

I should have saved my breath. His head fell back as his laugh boomed against the cubicle walls. At that very moment, God smiled down on me as Hal walked by the cubby opening. With lightening speed, I reached out and snatched his stun gun. Hal looked down just in time to see Rodriguez tense and then slump over.

"You couldn't have done that where it was on camera?" Hal whined as he snatched his stun gun out of my hands.

"I'll keep that in mind next time," I said apologetically as he walked away.

I leaned back in my chair and went back to going over the file in my hands. Vic had spent several years in jail for a jewelry heist that had gone very wrong. He spent several weeks in a hospital before he was sent up the river for a six-year stint. Six years had been a very light sentence seeing how he had killed six people in the jewelry store that him and five other guys held up.

"Shit," Rodriguez swore as he ran his hands over his face.

"I warned you," I chided as I grabbed a tissue from the box on his desk and wiped some drool off of his chin. "Do you not remember me stunning Hal in the garage?"

"I get it," he said as he leaned over and put his head between his legs.

I placed my hand on the back of his neck and pressed down as he leaned up. It's a nice trick and gets the black dots to disperse quickly. I rolled my chair over to get closer to him so that I could rub his shoulder. Keeping one hand on his neck and running the other up and down his back, I absentmindedly started humming the song that I had listened to in my apartment before I headed down.

We sat there for a few minutes, him leaning over and me rubbing his back as I hummed. My mothering instincts came out of their dormant hiding place in the back of my brain. It slightly shocked me that I had any of those feelings deep inside. The strange thing was that I felt comfortable at the same time. Creepy.

"You okay?" I asked as I leaned over to get a clear view of his face.

His naturally olive complexion looked slightly pale and gray. The guys were known for running around with their stun guns fully charged and on the highest setting. I slid my hand across his cheek and tilted his face towards me. His eyes fluttered open and a dazed expression fell over his face. I gave him a small smile that faltered slightly as a tingling sensation erupted across the back of my neck.

"Water?" I asked.

"Hmmmm."

I stood up slowly and backed out of his cubicle, backing right into Ranger. His hands slid around my waist and I felt a shiver run through my body as his breath tickled my ear.

"Explain."

"He laughed at me so I tagged him with Hal's stun gun," I said with a shrug, as if that was all that he needed to do to get that type of rise out of me.

I felt the tension leave my body as the chest behind me started to shake with silent laughter. A small smile tugged at my lips as I turned myself around in his arms and looked up at him. He was smiling. It was one of his rare 200-watt smiles that made me feel all gooey inside. It was the gooey feeling that I fully blame for the following course of action that I chose to take.

I tipped up on my toes and lightly kissed his cheek. I not only shocked myself by doing this, but I shocked Ranger as well. The smile on his face faltered for a brief moment before it completely vanished and the blank face slammed down. He released the grip on my waist, turned around, and walked away. Tension returned to my body as I caught Lester staring at me. He had seen what had just happened. 'I tried' I mouthed before I turned and went to the break room for Rodriguez's bottle of water.

"What do you have?" Ranger asked an hour later as everyone took their seats in the conference room for our nine o'clock meeting.

"The kit came back negative," Bobby said from his seat across the table from me. "I ran some tests on Bomber's blood and found a high level of Xanax in her blood."

"Xanax?" I asked.

"It's an anxiety medication," Bobby explained as he looked over at me. "In high doses, it relaxes the body to a point where you would be unable to move. With the level that I found in your bloodstream, you're lucky that vomiting was the only effect that it had on you."

"Prints?" Ranger asked.

"Every one in Trenton has been in that apartment," Cal said with a cheesy grin as he looked over at me. "I lifted about twenty different prints from your place. What on Earth was Simon Diggery doing in your apartment?"

"He must have broken in when he went FTA," I said with a shrug. "I'm use to getting my apartment broken into. It doesn't surprise me that Simon has broken in, too."

"Well, the only name that jumped out at me on my list of who's who on the Trenton scum bag list that entered your apartment was Harry Grizzoli."

"What was Harry doing in your apartment?" Tank asked.

"That's not open to discussion," I said flatly, hoping that my tone would steer the guys in a different direction. I could tell immediately that it had failed as I looked around the table. My eyes finally came to rest on Ranger's blank face. "It was a social call. Don't worry about Harry. I've got him."

I could tell that my comments did nothing to calm Ranger, but the guys seemed to take my words at face value. Even if I was lying. The truth was that I had no idea what Harry was doing in my apartment. I hadn't seen Harry in over a year, and I couldn't think of any reason for him coming into my apartment.

The rest of the meeting went by rather quickly. Xanax was a drug that just about anyone could get on the street. Bobby had indicated that it wouldn't have been too hard to get the pills and turn them into a liquid form to inject into me. There was talk of a safe house, which I quickly shot down. I said that I would remain in the building for the time being. I was 'encouraged' to take a man with me if I felt the need to get out of the building. More like bullied into taking a Merry Man with me everywhere I went.

I made a pit stop in my cubicle to gather up more searches and then headed back up to my apartment to go back to work. I flipped the CD player back on and set the five new search requests on the coffee table next to my laptop. I guess the word was out that I was back on payroll, and the guys were dumping as much as they thought that they could get away with on me. I didn't really mind all that much at the moment. It kept my mind occupied.

I took a break at noon and ran up to the fifth floor to see if I could get one of the guys to take me out to eat. I was dying for a Whopper, and I knew that I could get at least one of them to get me out of here if I offered to buy. Bobby ended up being my ticket out of jail. I even got him to stop by my apartment to pick up a few things. Like cash.

Whoppers with Bobby turned out to be another covert operation. I got behind the wheel as we left my apartment. As we approached a Burger King, he instructed me to slow down to a crawl so that he could jump out. I was to drive around for ten minutes and then swing back around to the front of the Burger King. He jumped in as I slowed, and we ate as we drove around. I stopped outside the bonds office, trying to make it look like we were conducting business. Lula immediately huffed her way outside when she saw us pull up.

"Where the hell have you been, White Girl?" Lula demanded as she wrenched Bobby's door open.

"I told Connie that I was out of commission," I defended as I held up my hand that I had crapily wrapped this morning. "I can't very well chase down skips with an injured hand."

Lula crossed her arms over her chest and huffed out a breath. I watched as something flickered through her eyes and a cat like grin spread across her lips. "I heard that there was some commotion in your apartment yesterday. About six large men in black swarming in with guns drawn."

"I have no clue what you're talking about," I said with an innocent smile. "Must have been someone else's apartment."

Lula took the hint and shot me a look that said I would have to spill all the beans at a later date. She seemed pleased with the fact that I was still breathing and went back into the office. Connie had been standing at the window, and I saw her mouth run at a mile a minute once Lula got back inside. I felt slightly bad that I had put Lula in the way of a speeding gossip train, but I got over it as I took a bite out of my Whopper.

Once we finished filling ourselves with bad fat, I recently discovered there are good fats, we headed back to the office. I saw a schedule sitting on the couch in front of my laptop. I picked it up and discovered that Tank had put me on three shifts on surveillance in the control room and two shifts doing field surveillance. The control room shifts weren't that big of a deal. I had those with Hal. It was the two shifts being trapped in a vehicle for eight hours that had me squirming. I suddenly felt bad for Cal since he was the unlucky soul that was going to be trapped with me.

I held up pretty well for the rest of the day. I hunkered down and got through all of my searches by eight and ran them back up to the fifth floor, depositing them in the right cubby. I grabbed the eight new searches that were in my 'in' box and ran back downstairs. I know that it might have seemed like I was being anti-social, staying in my apartment all day, but that just wasn't the case. I was just trying to protect myself. My heart can't take much more of being so near Ranger, yet him being so very far away. So, I've taken to hiding. There really isn't anything wrong with that. Right?

****

7. Having Words

I had crawled into bed at nine after taking a shower. My eyes fell on my alarm clock, and I let out a soft groan because it read eleven. Sleep was not coming even though I was extremely tired. There was only one way that I thought that I was going to be able to get any real sleep. But, I wasn't all that sure that I'd be able to handle it.

After tossing and turning for another half an hour, I finally caved and crawled out of my bed. I slid my feet into my bunny slippers and slipped out of my apartment. I walked across the hall and lightly knocked on the door. I heard a muffled permission to enter and slowly opened the door.

The sight before me was the last thing that I thought I'd see. I found Lester, Cal, and Hal all sitting in Bobby's living room. They all had beers in their hands and were watching a movie on the large flat screen TV that hung on the wall. Four pairs of eyes shot in my direction as four wide grins came out of hiding.

"What's up, Steph?" Bobby asked as he pulled himself out of his recliner and walked over to me. "Can't sleep?"

I shook my head 'no' as my vision blurred. I was beyond frustrated over the fact that I couldn't sleep. I knew that it was stupid to think that anyone could get me while I was up here on the fourth floor. But, the fear was still there and compounding as I lost more sleep.

"Do you want me to come in and lay down with you?" Cal asked as he rose and walked to my side.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a sedative," I said as I looked up at Bobby.

"It's not something that I usually do, Steph," he said as he reached out and put an arm around my shoulder.

I leaned into him and buried my face in his chest. He was warm and soft. A comforting feeling surrounded me as his arms circled around me and pulled me closer. He rested his cheek on my hair as he gently rocked me back and forth.

"Get her back in bed," Bobby whispered to Cal, finally relenting. "I'll be in in a minute."

Cal pulled me out of Bobby's arms and walked me back over to my room slowly. I heard Bobby run down the hall and hit the door to the stairs at a fast pace. Cal got me back into my room and helped me get back into bed. I was slightly shocked when he toed off his boots, removed his t-shirt, and crawled into bed with me. He pulled me close and tucked me head under his chin.

"I'm just going to stay until you're out, okay?" Cal whispered as Bobby walked in.

I nodded my head and closed my eyes. I felt Bobby twist my arm around a few times and then a needle pinch into my skin. I wrapped my arm around Cal after Bobby let go and said a silent prayer of thanks as I felt the drug immediately take effect. _His_ voice rang out in my head as a velvety blackness came over my mind and brought in a welcoming sleep.

My whole body tensed up when my brain finally figure out that I was wrapped around a warm body. A hand was laced through my curls, holding my head to a smooth chest. My nose finally started working and it registered a very familiar scent. The faint scent of Bulgari and Ranger's nature smell. This can't be right. Maybe it's a hallucination. A side effect from being drugged last night.

I felt the chest start to shake and knew that, first I was talking out loud, and second that I was not hallucinating. The fingers in my hair gently tugged my head back, and I looked up at Ranger. A smile was tugging at the corners of his lips as he looked down at me. I felt my face scrunch up in a scowl as I pushed away from him. This was dangerous territory for me. Being so close to him.

"Babe?"

"Don't," I said as I slid out of bed and made my way into the bathroom.

With luck, he'd be gone by the time I got out of the bathroom. Especially if I took a long time in the shower. I unwrapped my fingers and turned the shower on. Thirty minutes later, freshly scrubbed and exfoliated, I walked out of my bathroom to find Ranger sitting on my couch. I shook my head to clear the fuzziness that always formed when he's near me and wandered over to my dresser. I pulled out some clothes, all of course black, and made my way back into my bathroom.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked as I walked out of my bathroom, almost ready for my day.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were having problems sleeping?" Ranger asked as he looked up at me.

"I'm sorry," I said, a little more sarcastically then I was aiming for. "We haven't exactly been close since you got back from your last mission."

"Babe-"

I held up my hand to stop whatever it was that he was about to say. I took a deep breath to calm the anger that was starting to build. Fighting wasn't going to solve anything. He was nice enough to let me stay here while I have yet another crazy after me, and I was on the verge of biting his head off. Not a good thing to do.

"I don't know what's going on with you," I said quietly as I walked over to the chair next to the couch and sat down. I looked over at him and our eyes locked as I continued, "You've been closed off and distant since you came back from your last mission. I haven't asked what happened, because I know that it must have been something bad for you to push me away. And that's okay. But, if you need to have distance from me for one reason or another, then you need to keep yourself out of my bed. Because I can't deal with you being this distant with me and being that close."

The look on his face was totally blank, but his eyes gave him away. They were filled with pain. I had never seen him look like this before. He had always kept his feelings closed off from me, and this tiny glimpse of emotion had me jumping out of my chair. I knelt down in front of him and placed my left hand on the side of his face. I felt my heart break as I looked into his eyes and saw the amount of pain that he was in.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" I whispered.

He shook his head and dropped his eyes to the floor as he took a deep breath. I could feel the war that was battling inside him. His emotions were fighting against him, and I sensed that he was at a loss as to what he was suppose to do with it. I saw his hand move out of the corner of my eye. He had started to reach out for me, but I saw his face start to shut down as his hand fisted and dropped to his side. He was pulling back again.

"Stop," I said tersely.

His eyes flew up to my face and I saw the question in them.

"Sometimes you have to stop life and face whatever it is that you are running from," I said quietly. "Talk to me… Please."

I knew that using the 'P' word was fighting dirty. It was a word that neither one of us could ignore if the other had used it. I released his face and sat back on my heels, giving him the chance to run and hide or sit here and try to let me help. He sat frozen on the couch. Just staring down at me, totally lost on what it was that I was expecting him to do. To tell you the truth, I wasn't even sure what I was expecting from him.

After a few minutes of staring at each other, I sighed and shook my head. Ranger could be silent forever and I'd rather shoot myself then have to live through that. I rocked myself up and stood to leave. Ranger's hand shot out and he grabbed my left wrist to keep me from moving. I turned back and looked at him expectantly as he rose off of the couch.

"I love you."

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from smiling. I wanted him to put everything out and on the line before I threw myself at him. Besides, I shouldn't get my hopes up. This could turn into another conversation about his life not being safe enough for me.

"I've loved you ever since that day in the diner," Ranger said as his hand came up and rested on my cheek. "I just never knew that I was in love with you. I didn't know that it would hurt to be away from you. I didn't know how much I was going to miss your smile. I've done so many terrible things in my life. Things that I can never tell you because I know that as soon as I do, you'll run for the hills."

Too many things were running through my head. I almost couldn't hear what it was that he was telling me. I blocked out Stupid and Smart Stephanie. They were both screaming at the top of their lungs. I shut it all out and focused on just Ranger.

"My last mission took a lot out of me," he continued. "I thought about you every day while I was gone. It was all I could do to get the job done and get back home. Every day that I was gone, it became more painful to be away from you. I almost got myself killed because I got antsy and went through with the job even though I wasn't sure how good the Intel was. I put my life at risk because I had an overwhelming need to get back here to Trenton."

His face softened, and I saw a little smile try to peek through. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against mine. I reached out to him and wrapped my arms around his waist as I pulled him closer. I was about to open my mouth and say something, anything, when he surprised me by continuing to speak.

"The fact that I got shot because I wasn't completely prepared for my mission was a wake up call," he whispered, his eyes still closed. "I was so focused on getting back home to a woman that wasn't mine, that I didn't pay attention. That's why I was so distant when I got back. In my mind, you were the one to blame for me getting shot. I was so furious with you that I couldn't stand to be anywhere near you."

My vision blurred at his painful words. I blinked to clear them, not caring for the tears that fell down my cheeks. I didn't know that he even cared for me. Sure, we had one night of incredible sex that absolutely blew me away. But, we had just been friends.

It was the friendship that he had pulled off the table that had hurt more then breaking up with Joe had. The longer that he had remained distant, the more that I felt my heart break. Week after week of not being able to see him had almost killed me. Hiding all of those feelings had been exhausting. I couldn't let Joe, or anyone else for that matter, see how much pain I was in.

"I've put so much distance between us that I don't know how to fix it," he finally whispered. "I want my best friend back."

I was so completely floored by his admission that I felt more tears openly fall down my cheeks. My throat slowly started to close as I felt several emotions race through my body. Anger over him taking so long to tell me all of this. Happiness over the fact that he had finally told me what was going on. Love poured out of my heart and flooded my chest for the man that was holding me. And, inevitably, the desire that always courses through my veins whenever he's this close to me.

"I want my best friend back, too," I whispered once I found my voice. My next admission just kind of fell out of my mouth. "I love you."

His eyes slowly opened after I clamped my mouth shut. There wasn't a sign of the war that he had been battling. Relief was apparent as he released a breath that neither one of us was aware of him holding in. My disappointment became apparent as his cell phone started ringing. There was so much more that I needed to say.

"Yo," he said after he got it opened and up to his ear. After listening to the caller he said, "I'll be there in twenty."

He pulled his head off of my forehead as he closed his phone and stuck it on his belt. He smiled down at me as he reached up and tucked a curl behind my ear. I smiled back as his hands came up and rested on my face, his thumbs wiping away the tear tracks on my cheeks.

"What are your plans for the day?" he finally asked.

"It's Tuesday, so… searches. And I have a late surveillance shift with Cal," I said after I thought about it for a minute.

"Can we have lunch together?"

"That'd be nice," I said with a nod of my head.

"I'll see you around noon then."

I hadn't really been expecting the kiss that he bent down for. But, I had been praying for it. His lips lightly brushed against mine and I felt my heart rate kick up a notch. I raised up on my toes to keep the contact a little longer as he pulled back. He growled at me as his eyes turned into two black pools of desire.

"Don't get burnt, Babe," Ranger whispered before he kissed my forehead and then left my apartment.

It was only seven in the morning and I was already ready for a nap. He had told me that he was in love with me and I felt like I was ten feet tall. Since I told him that I loved him, would we finally be able to give 'us' a shot? Best not to think about that on an empty stomach, I thought as I moved over to the fridge. God bless Ella. Without her, I'd be a starving Ethiopian. I grabbed a glass of milk and a pop tart before heading back over to the couch to start my morning of searches.

My first search was from Rodriguez. It was a more in depth search on Vic Vega. School records. Incarceration records. DMV records. It looked a lot like they were actually thinking about hiring this guy. Maybe I could talk Ranger into letting me meet this guy. My Spidey Senses were still going off on this guy and I just couldn't figure out what was going on.

****

8. Abnormal Behavior

As my eyes settled on my fifth search request, I felt the sudden urge to maim Rodriguez. I think that he might be suffering some type of brain damage from being stunned yesterday. The man actually requested a search on my background. Mine! What the hell is he thinking?

I gathered up the four searches that I had already completed along with the one that had me heading straight into 'rhino mode' and headed out of my apartment. I stomped down the hall and punched the 'up' button to the elevator. After standing there for about fifteen seconds, I abandoned my idea on the elevator and went through the door to the stairs.

Huffing my way up the stairs, I opened the door to the fifth floor and stomped over to Rodriguez's cubicle. I stood in the door way and waited for him to finish his phone call. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and looked over at Cal making his way towards me. The look in my eyes must have murderous because he stopped in his tracks and stared at me. I guess he decided that whatever it was that he was wanting to talk to me about wasn't important because he abruptly turned around and walked away.

"May I help you with something?"

My head swiveled back into the cubby that I was standing in front of and my eyes narrowed as I looked down at Rodriguez. He flinched when his eyes met mine and he shrunk into his chair. I stiffly held out the questionable file and he timidly took it from my hands. He looked down at the file and I watched as his face turned bright red.

"I'm s-sorry," Rodriguez stammered. "I've been looking for this everywhere. Ranger asked me to run a back ground check on you. It must have gotten mixed up with my other search requests."

I calmly sat his other searches down on the corner of his desk and turned around. Why would Ranger want to run a back ground check on me? He could walk up to anyone in the Burg and hear my life story. I walked over to Ranger's closed office door and just stood there. He knew my life story. What more did he need to know? I hung my head and stared down at the kick plate on the door. Maybe there was a very valid explanation for him asking for a back ground search.

The office door slowly opened and I stared down at a pair of black combat boots instead of the kick plate. The silence that hung in the air was comforting as it mixed with Ranger's scent. I was just over reacting. Poor Rodriguez. He'd probably need to go change his boxers. And Cal. Jesus! What the hell's wrong with me? It was just a search request. I'm sure that it hasn't been the first one that Ranger ordered on me.

"Babe?"

My head jerked up at the sound of Ranger's voice. His eyebrows were furrowed and concern was clear in his eyes. He slowly reached out and took my hand in his.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"Um…" I said trying to figure out how to explain how I felt. "I just got really mad at Rodriguez for something that I'm sure is routine. Then, when he said that it was at your request, I got even more angry and huffed my way over here."

He pulled me into his office and closed the door. I let him push me down onto the black leather couch that sat against the wall. He sat down next to me and slipped an arm around my waist as he tucked my head under his chin. I felt completely overwhelmed with emotions that weren't making sense. I was completely anger and terrified at the same time. I wanted to laugh at how stupid I was being.

"I think that you are stressed out, Babe," Ranger said quietly as he rubbed little circles on my back. "Have you talked to anyone about what happened?"

I shook my head 'no' as I wiped away a tear that had fallen down my cheek.

"Maybe you should try talking to one of the guys," Ranger suggested. "Bobby can't keep drugging you every night."

"I know," I said as I finally looked up at him. "Who should I talk to?"

"Any one of the guys would sit down with you in a heart beat," Ranger said with a small smile as he tucked a curl behind my ear. "I guess you just have to figure out who you feel comfortable talking with. Thou I think you should know that Cal is the only one out of us that has a psych degree."

"Cal already told you that I was having problems," I whispered as another tear fell down my cheek. Where were these tears coming from?

"He cornered me yesterday after I had time to calm down," Ranger said with a nod as he wiped away my tear.

"I'm sorry about that," I whispered with a small smile. "Nothing happened."

"I know, Babe," he whispered back giving me a smile of his own.

"I'm keeping you from your work," I said on a sigh. I pulled away from him and stood up as I said, "Are we still on for lunch?"

"If we can push it back to one," Ranger said as he stood up and opened the door.

"Sure," I nodded. "Just meet me in my apartment."

I left Ranger's office and headed over and apologized to Rodriguez for freaking out on him. He gave me a nervous laugh and said that everything was cool. I stopped into Cal's empty cubicle and left him a note asking that he stop by my apartment when ever he had a free moment.

I was walking over to the elevator when the door slid open. Tank came walking out of the elevator with his hand on another man's shoulder. He was laughing as they walked towards me. He looked down at me and I saw that his eyes were dancing from the remnants of his laugh. I smiled up at the large man.

"Steph," Tank said as he stopped in front of me. "I'd like you to meet Vic Vega."

I looked over at the other man and recognition set in. The pale blue eyes and ruffled dark brown hair that was in desperate need of a cut. My Spidey-Senses where going off like crazy and I felt the muscles in my body slowly start to tense up. Now that I see this man in person, I know that there is something wrong.

"Nice to meet you, Vic," I said as I held out my hand, I'd be dead before I forgot proper Burg manners.

"It's nice to meet you too, Steph," Vic said as he took my hand in his.

He smiled down at me and I caught a glimpse of a set of dimples that where going to give Lester a run for his money. There was something under the smile that I couldn't place. It was almost like he was congratulating himself for something. Or, perhaps it was a smugness that I was picking up. Either way, the guy was creeping me out.

"I brought Vic in for an interview," Tank said.

"That's great," I said with a nod. I turned to Tank and asked, "Can I sit in?"

"The more the merrier," Vic said.

"Great," I said as I moved passed the two large men. "I just need to grab something out of my apartment."

"Just meet us in the conference room," Tank said as the two men started walking away.

I ran down the stairs and grabbed a file that I had sitting on my coffee table. It was a copy of the two files that I had already given to Rodriguez on Vic Vega. After grabbing a bottle of water and a can of Pepsi out of my fridge, I ran back out of my apartment and hit the stairs. Ranger smiled at me as I ran out of the stair well. Bastard caught me actually raising my heart rate. I'll deny that it was exercise till the day I die. I'm filing it under excitement for a meeting. Yeah. I know. Abnormal to be excited over a meeting.

I smiled at Ranger as I skipped over to the door that lead into the conference room. He raised an eyebrow at me as I slipped passed him and headed in. Tank and Vic were already seated at the table, each with a water in hand, talking about woman. As if there weren't anything else to talk about.

"What do you mean you don't have a girlfriend?" Tank asked, disbelief written in his eyes.

"I'm an ex-con," Vic said with a shrug. "Most woman don't find that appealing."

"Steph," Tank said as he turned to me as I walked over to a chair. "You've gotta have a desperate female friend that we can hook Vic up with."

"I'd like to take offence that you think that I have desperate female friends," I said with a fake huff. "But I'm more offended that you didn't throw me at him."

Tank's head fell back with laughter at my joke. "Yeah… right… and be killed… by Ranger?" he got out in between laughs.

"No one's staked their claim," I said innocently as I turned to Vic. "How about it, Vic? Pizza at Shorty's around seven?"

Shorty's was a safe place and I really wanted to get a little one on one time with this guy to see what was setting me off. I could probably get Cal to follow me over, too. Just to keep an eye on me.

"I'll take it," he beamed at me. Then he turned to Ranger and said, "Just remember, I'm an ex-con. It'll never last."

"I like bad boys," I said with a laugh. "Look at this bunch of misfits that I work with."

"Can we get back on track here?" Ranger asked as he finally sat in the chair next to me.

"Right," Tanks said, sobering immediately. "We got your back ground check back and I just have a question. What's to stop you from actually stealing something if you get passed the security system?"

"It's called shock therapy," Vic said as he leaned back in his chair. "I volunteered for a research study while I was in jail. They hooked me up to several machines and shocked the stealing out of me."

The guys caught the appalled look that had settled over my face and started busting up laughing. It took me a moment to understand that Vic was pulling my leg. I scowled at Vic as I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot under the table.

"But, seriously," Vic said once he sobered. "This last stint in the big house was a wake up call. I'm thirty-five years old. I don't want to be a thief for the rest of my life. I want to be able to look back on my life and think that I might have done something good."

"That's good," Ranger said with a nod. "I'd like to have a meeting with your parole officer before we start talking any more."

"That doesn't sound unreasonable," Vic said with a smile at Ranger. "I'd expect nothing less."

The meeting wrapped up pretty quickly after that and Tank walked Vic out. I leaned back in my chair and swiveled it towards Ranger. He was leaning back in his chair, his fingers steepled in front of his mouth.

"No one's staked their claim?" Ranger said quietly.

"Technically, you haven't," I said with a shrug. "But, that's not the reason that I want to have pizza with Vic."

"Then what is?"

"There's something weird about this guy," I admitted after a minute. "He gives me the creepies."

"The creepies?" Ranger mocked with a twitch of his lips.

"Yeah. The creepies," I said with an eye roll as I gathered up my file.

"Are you ready for lunch?" Ranger asked as he stood and looked at his watch.

"Your place or mine?" I asked as we headed towards the door, Ranger's hand comfortably at the small of my back.

"Ella's got lunch set up in my apartment if that's okay?" he said as he guided me towards the elevator. He pushed me into the elevator and pinned me against the wall. A rush of desire flooded my body as his lips came down to just a hair away from mine. His mouth brushed against mine as he whispered, "How would you feel about me staking my claim?"

****

9. Ranger Stakes His Claim

__

SMUT WARNING!

Thanks to Linda over on . Without her, I'd still be looking at a half blank page, beating my head on my desk, and cursing that my mind won't let Steph and Ranger get their groove on. It's a mental block do to all of the MM smut I've done. I'm afraid that it may be permanent.-Kate

My body caught on fire as his lips crashed down on mine. All thoughts of lunch quickly fled my mind as our bodies melted together. Everything that I had been praying for was actually happening. Ranger was staking his claim and my brain was screaming 'IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!'.

My left hand slid up his chest and fisted in his hair as his tongue slid passed my lips. His hands trailed down my back to my butt and he hauled me up, wrapping my legs around his waist. One hand stayed on my butt as the other came up and fisted in my hair, pulling me closer. I faintly heard the elevator ding open over the blood rushing through my ears.

Ranger walked us out of the elevator and slammed me against his apartment door. A fresh wave of desire washed over my body at how rough he was being. It was more exciting than that one night that we had spent together. That had been slow, more like love making than just sex. This was primal. He was definitely staking his claim. Especially since he started kissing me in the elevator. At least two people on monitor duty got an eye full of that.

After a brief struggle with the door, Ranger finally pulled me back from the door and put a boot to it. My panties instantly got soaked as I heard the door frame splinter and then the door slam into a wall. I felt myself being carried into the apartment and a smile spread over my lips when Ranger let out a disgruntled growl when he couldn't get the door to stay shut.

"This isn't funny," he growled when he torn his lips from mine.

"Just lock your bedroom door," I whispered as I kissed my way across his jaw and down his neck.

He stood stock still for a moment, actually contemplating getting the door closed, before I bit into his neck on his pulse point. That was his breaking point. I felt a light breeze through my hair as he ran into his bedroom, the door slamming shut after we passed through. I heard the lock tumble as I found myself pinned to the door. He held me pinned to the door for a moment, he lips caressing my neck as he breathed in deeply.

"I love you," he whispered as his lips came up to the shell of my ear.

The lust filled haze that Ranger always brought out in me was quickly wiped from my brain. Was that an admission based on the act that we were about to commit? Or, was he actually telling me that he loves me from the bottom of his heart? Ranger pulled back slightly so that his eyes could meet mine. The look in his eyes told me everything, he was like an open book. I had never been looked at with a pair of eyes that held so much love and affection. He was completely serious about loving me and I felt like doing a happy dance.

"I love you," I whispered back as my left hand came up and caressed the side of his face.

The beauty that I had always associated with Ranger's Cuban heritage was nothing compared to a man in love. It was like a light turned on behind his face. The smile that slowly spread across his lips was the most breath taking smile he had ever given me. The smile reached all the way up to his eyes and I knew that I had just made his year.

"Say it again?" Ranger asked as he leaned closer.

"I love you," I whispered as a small smile crossed my lips.

"Again," he whispered, his lips a breath away from mine.

"I love you."

His lips caught mine in a kiss that was laced with pure emotions. I felt the backs of my eyes start to burn as his tongue slid passed my lips and gently stroked mine. I felt the kiss change and become more urgent as he grinded his erection into me. I struggled to remove his shirt and he took over, breaking the kiss long enough to get the shirt over his head.

With one swift move, he pulled me off of the door and had me pinned down on his bed in three seconds flat. Desperation fueled us both as our hands wandered over newly exposed flesh as clothes were removed and thrown to the floor.

He sunk down on top of me once there was nothing between us. Going still for a moment he looked directly into my eyes, the love that he held for me still burning brightly in them. I watched as the love slowly receded and his eyes darkened with pure desire. His head tilted to the side and his lips caressed their way down my neck, pausing slightly to lick and bite the pulse point in my neck.

"I want you." The words whispered across my ear sent a shiver through my body and goose bumps over my skin. "I can't remember a time I didn't want you."

Ranger's voice, dark with desire, washed over me, sweeping me away to a place where nothing and no one else existed. There was only here; this man, this bed, this time. My free hand stroked over hard muscles, perfectly toned and slick with the beginnings of a sheen of sweat.

I licked and then nipped at Ranger's shoulder and closed my eyes as I savored the familiar taste of his hot skin on my tongue. I heard my own distant whimper as Ranger raked his teeth over the sensitive skin at the nape of my neck. When he mirrored my move and sunk his teeth into the side of my neck, I wrapped my legs around his waist, opening and lifting myself to him.

Wild now for the feel of him buried deep inside of me, I began rocking against Ranger's hard cock, my breath coming out on a sob as I nearly begged him to enter me. Instead of giving me what I wanted, he eased my legs down onto the bed and shifted his body to the side as his mouth and tongue worked their way down to my breasts.

I opened heavy eyelids as Ranger's tongue flicked out and stabbed at my hardened nipple. I lifted myself to his hot mouth, while using my left hand to reach down and wrap around his hard cock. Control snapped like a fragile piece of glass as Ranger thrust his fingers into me. The scream of his name was ripped from me as my body spasmed and clenched around his hand.

Without conscious thought, I continued to stroke Ranger, as shudder after shudder racked my body. On a low growl, he captured my hand in his while the fingers of the other continued to slide in and out of me, pushing me toward another climax before I'd had a chance to recover from the first. When my body tightened like a bow and my muscles began to quiver, Ranger released me long enough to shift until he was lying with his head resting between my legs. His fingers spread open lips that were sensitive and swollen from passion.

And then his mouth was on me, tasting me. Within minutes I was begging. "Please, please, please. Oh, God, Ranger." He ran his tongue over me, into me, again and again as if he couldn't get enough. Overwhelming sensations ran through my body like hot bolts of electricity, and my hand fisted tightly in his hair. Ranger set his teeth on my clit and gently bit. Instantly my entire body shattered and convulsed as starbursts of white light burst behind closed eyelids. A tortured moan escaped me as I bucked against Ranger's mouth over and over until I thought I would erupt from the searing pleasure that exploded through me. My body still trembling with aftershocks, Ranger abruptly, almost roughly, pulled me to my knees.

"Again," he ground out, as his mouth crashed down on mine. The taste of my own arousal on Ranger's tongue as he plunged into me, had my body clenching tightly around his hard, driving cock. He turned, rolling to his back, still buried deep inside of me, and a groan tore from his throat.

I looked down and focused on his eyes, eyes black with intensity. I would have melted forward onto his chest, but Ranger's hands gripped my hips so firmly that I was sure to have bruises. He shifted his hips down, and in one hard thrust, rammed himself deep inside of me again.

"Ranger," I cried on a strangled gasp.

"Again, Babe."

Pushed beyond all ability to focus, I struggled to match the wild and frenzied pace that Ranger set as he increased the speed of his thrusts, each stroke deeper than the one before. Somehow through the desire-filled haze that covered my brain came the realization that Ranger was driven to fulfill his promise to stake his claim on me, and my ravaged body and soul knew I'd never be the same.

Once more he withdrew. This time Ranger lifted me before he thrust back up and brought me down forcefully. Riding on the power of my new position, I fisted my left hand in my hair as I arched my back, rotating my hips, rocking them against and around Ranger as he pounded himself into me, his hips rising off of the mattress higher and higher with each driving force of his hard cock.

Moving over Ranger, harder and faster with each powerful thrust, I kept my eyes locked on his as his body began to tense and tighten beneath me. When both of our breathing had become nothing more than short, desperate pants, Ranger reared up and captured one hard nipple between his teeth and greedy lips, sucking me deep into his mouth. The orgasm slammed through me, and my strangled cry was echoed by Ranger's ragged shout of completion as he shot wave after wave of hot release deep inside me.

"I love you," Ranger whispered after his heartbeat finally slowed under my ear.

"I love you, too," I whispered back, marveling over how easy it came for me to say it out loud.

"Are we okay?" he asked as he shifted me over to his side and moved my damp curls out of my face.

"I think so," I said as I gave him a lazy smile.

My stomach chose that time to voice its opinion over missing lunch. He smiled down at me as he wiggled off the bad. I couldn't help but stare at his fantastically naked ass as he wondered out of the bedroom. Every muscle in my body was Jell-O and the thought that Ranger was responsible for it made my stomach flutter. Things were looking up.

__

Else where from our stalker's POV

I think of all the times I've dreamt of her opening her heart and her arms to me, all of the times I've imagined Stephanie welcoming me into her body with no question of where I've been or what I've done. And I know that my fellow man could never reward what they see as my sins with a gift as lovely as her.

Though, I believe, the taking of a life that is not pure cannot be considered a sin, I know that many of the less open-minded and godless do not understand, and they would seek to punish me in their ignorance.

Still, I picture the candles flickering and the sweet perfume of roses in the air as I cover her lovely body with mine. My hands circle her delicate throat as I mate with her. I can see the aura of her perfect soul as it leaves her body and enters mine. And I understand how I finally can become whole. I know with absolute certainty that when her soul merges with mine, I can complete the mission I was born to fulfill. My mission from God.

And I will be born again, all of my sins forgiven, so that I might enter his heavenly castle. She was sent as my savior. Stephanie Plum, my very own blue-eyed angel of mercy.

It was just too easy, I thought as I walked out of the building on Haywood. RangeMan was about two days away from offering me a job; a job that got me this much closer to fulfilling my destiny. She will be mine. It's only a matter of time.

****

10. The Closet

"What are you doing?"

I looked out of Ranger's closet as I pulled on a short black skirt. We had both gone back to work after lunch, but he still looked slightly rumpled. Well used. A smile broke out over his lips as he leaned against the door frame to the closet. I was ogling again. Sometimes I just can't help it since I know what's under the clothes.

"I still have a date with Vic at seven," I said as I turned back to look at the five pairs of FMPs that were sitting in the cubby holes next to my clothes.

"Babe?"

I looked back over at Ranger as I slid on the shoes that I had finally settled on. His voice had sounded slightly strangled and even more dark. He had managed to pull on his blank face in three seconds flat. However, it wasn't before I saw a flash of hurt pass through his eyes.

"I told you before that I have a hinky feeling about him," I said after I sighed. "No worries, Batman. I got Hal to set me up with a mic and Brett is going to be in the bar observing. I need to figure this out."

"And you have to do this at Shorty's?" he asked, his blank face starting to slip.

"Better then any other place that I could think of," I said with a shrug. "Most of the staff know me and the guys are familiar with the building."

"Alright," Ranger finally said after he watched me pull on a red halter top, minus the bra. "But, you definitely aren't wearing that."

"What's wrong with this?" I said as I looked down at the red halter and black skirt. "I'm just mix and matching distraction wardrobes. Nothing that I haven't worn before."

"The difference is that now you are with me," Ranger said as he slowly started making his way to my side. "I'd prefer that my girl friend wore a little more material."

"Is that what I am now?" I asked with a sideways glance as I slipped my arm around his waist. "Your girl friend?"

His fingers slowly came up under my chin and tilted my head back and up to look into his eyes. They were soft, filled with love and affection. It was going to take awhile for me to get use to that look. But, it was one that I was definitely going to enjoy seeing on a regular basis.

"I meant it when I said that I love you," he said quietly. "It's for keeps this time, Babe. I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you in my life and happy. Never doubt that."

His lips lightly brushed against mine and then he released me. We stood in the closet, looking at the limited amount of clothes that I had stored here, in silence. Everything that I had here was either slutty, very slutty, or bend-me-over-the-table-in-a-bar-and-fuck-me-in-public slutty. It wasn't looking all that great for finding an outfit with more material.

"You need to go shopping," Ranger finally said breaking the silence.

"I don't have enough time," I said after a glance at my watch. "I have less then an hour to get ready and meet him at Shorty's."

"Why don't you just go in your unif…"

I looked over at Ranger and saw something pass over his face. His eyes had slightly glazed over and his lips were twitching. He shook himself after a moment and the a wide grin formed on his lips. I watched him move to the back of the closet and start riffling around in one of his dressers. He finally found what he was looking for and whirled around as he held if up for me.

"I had it made for you about a year ago," he said as he started to walk back over to me. "You just never got into enough trouble for me to give it to you. Though I have had a few dreams about seeing you in it."

I looked at the black corseted tank top and frowned. It looked pretty ordinary to me until I took it out of his hands. It was heavy and didn't seem to move easily. I looked back up at Ranger and frowned.

"I don't get it," I said as I looked back down at the tank top. "Why would you have this made for me?"

"The fabric is wrapped around a new form of Kevlar," Ranger said as he took it out of my hands and opened it by pulling the lace out.

The red halter that I had been wearing magically disappeared and Ranger helped me put the tank top on. He seemed to enjoy lacing the front of it up for me, so I saw no real reason to interfere. Once he was done, he pushed my skirt down, his breath quickly catching as his eyes fell on my black thong.

"Ella needs a raise," Ranger whispered as his fingers tracked over the RangeMan logo on the front.

He abruptly turned around and pulled a pair of my cargos off of a hanger and held them out for me to get in. Ranger dressing me was kind of cute. Intimate. He got the front buttoned up efficiently and then went back to one of the dressers and pulled out of pair of black socks. He handed me the socks and a pair of boots before he motioned me out of the closet.

Taking the clear hint, I exited the closet and sat on the bed so that I could do the socks and boots thing. I stood back up and looked around at the empty room. Where did he disappear to now?

"Right here, Babe," Ranger said as he walked back into the bedroom from the living room.

He sat whatever he had in his hands on the bed and then moved me further out into the middle of the room. I felt like a freaking Barbie Doll. He made several laps around me as he eyed my body. I uncomfortable shifted under his scrutiny.

"Ranger?"

"Hold on, Babe," he said as he stopped behind me. "We just need to make a few adjustments."

My pants dropped down about an inch on my hips, showing off the thin material of my thong as it ran across my hips. Slutty, but understated slutty. His hand somehow managed to go in through the bottom of the skin tight tank top and he placed a mic. He stood back and made one final assessment.

"Can you adjust those?" he said as he pointed at my breasts.

"You mean pull them up a little more?" I asked as I looked down.

"More cleavage would be better."

"A boob job would be better," I said on a sigh as I reached into the front of the top and lifted my breasts a little higher.

When I finally looked back up, Ranger was just inches from me. His face was serious as he looked deep into my eyes. Searching for what? I'm not that sure.

"You are the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen," Ranger said quietly as his hands slowly slide up my sides. "I love every inch of the heavenly body that you have. I never want you to change the way that you look. Never."

I felt my throat start to close at the words that he had just spoken. It was probably the nicest thing that he had ever said to me. A smile broke out over my lips as I tipped up on my toes and lightly kissed his lips, not wanting to get my dark red lipstick all over him.

"There's just one last thing and you'll be set to go out with another man," Ranger somewhat teased.

I desperately wanted to scream as his fingers came up into my hair. I had just spent forty-five minutes getting it just right and he was ruining all of my work. I decided that deep breathing was the better course of action and took several deep breaths. Ranger ran his fingers through my hair several time and the scrunched it a little.

"Done," Ranger finally announced after he took a step back and looked me over from head to toe. "You look sexy as hell, Babe."

I looked at him doubtfully for a few minutes before I finally turned and walked over to the mirror in the closet. I'm going to have to learn not to doubt Ranger when he says that I look sexy as hell. At least if it's not when I first wake up in the morning. If you need a model to lay over an expensive red sports car, then I am your girl. The big hair thing that Ranger did to me made me look like I had just rolled out of bed in a good way. The low ride of my pants left a good three inch gap between the top and my pants. Ranger was good.

"There's just one more thing."

I turned and looked at him and saw that he was holding a gun in his hand. Can't very well leave the building without being armed. Not exactly a heavy burden at this point. After all, we still didn't have an I.D. on my stalker.

I walked over to him and took the gun out of his hand. After checking that it was loaded and chambered, I armed the safety and stuck it in the back of my pants. I turned around for Ranger's last approval and stopped as he frowned.

"What?" I asked as I threw up my hands.

"Try this instead," he said as he held out a shoulder harness.

Removing the gun from the back of my pants, I placed it in the holster and then adjusted the straps once I got it on. I fidgeted with it for a minute and then spun around again for Ranger. He was still frowning at me.

He walked out of the bedroom and then reappeared moments later. He stuck a second gun in the back of my pants and then waved his hand around for me to turn around again.

"Much better," he said as a smile appeared. "Now you can go."

I rolled my eyes at Ranger, but I was mentally smiling. All I was missing was a knife and I'd be Mini-Ranger. I guess carrying two guns is a small price to pay if I get to be his girlfriend. Compromise. I can do this.

"I'm grabbing Brett and then I'm out," I said after I kissed his cheek.

I stopped by the front door and frowned. My hand came up to my forehead as I tried to remember where I had last left my purse. Damn. It got blown up with my car and I hadn't gotten the chance to get a new one since then.

"Problem, Babe?" Ranger asked after he saw me standing in the entry way.

"I don't have a purse," I said as I frowned over at him.

"You don't need one," he said as he walked over to me. "It'd ruin the image."

"And what image is that?" I asked as I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Sexy bounty hunter," he said with a wolf grin.


	2. Chapter 2

****

Beautiful Creature

Chapters 11 thru 18

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

****

11. Shorty's

Stepping off the elevator on the fifth floor, I made my way over to the com room and smiled at Hal as I walked in. He nodded to me and held up his hand as he continued his conversation on the phone. I sat in the chair next to him and waited patiently for his call to end.

"Brett's already over at Shorty's," Hal said after he hung up the phone. "Vic's already there. Junior and Vince are at the pool tables, too."

"It's pizza at Shorty's Hal," I chided. "I seriously doubt that I can get into that much trouble there."

"Just being cautious."

"Let Cal know that I'll meet up with him here at ten for our shift," I said as I stood up to leave.

"Your shift has been reassigned tonight," Hal said, slightly moving his chair back and away from me.

I stared down at him for a brief moment and then said, "Call Ranger back and tell him that I am working my shift tonight. I'm not going to have other people working my shift just because he wants to spend time with me. I'll be back by ten."

Hal's face paled slightly before I turned on my heel and walked from the room. I love Ranger. I honestly do. But, I'm not about to have him play favorites with me. I was given a schedule and I'm sticking to it. Even if I'd rather spend the night in his arms and wake up in the same position. That kind of thing will only create animosity between me and the guys and that really is the last thing that I want to happen.

After stopping briefly in my fourth floor apartment to grab a CD to listen to on my way over to Shorty's, I made my way down to the garage and jumped into the Bronco that Cal had given me keys to. I popped a CD out of the player that had been left by the last occupant and almost peed my pants as laughter took over my body. Sitting in my hand was a CD that had Tank's name literally written all over it. That wasn't the funny part. The funny part was that it was the Pet Shop Boys' _Very_. Not exactly the CD that I had pictured Tank listening to. I decided to ditch the Marilyn Manson that I had brought down with me and put Tank's CD back in.

Moments after I pulled out of the garage and onto Haywood, my cell phone beeped and alerted me that I had a text message. I fished the phone out of my pocket and hit a button to see the massage.

__

If you tell anyone… they won't find your body. Even if you are with Ranger now.

I audibly gulped as I closed my phone. I'm almost positive that Tank was joking. But, I'm not 100, so I'm going to keep this under wraps for now. I turned my attention back to the road and sang my way to Shorty's, probably making listeners back at RangeMan cringe. Why should I care? Ranger had told me that he loves me, I had great sex today, and I had myself set on a mission. What's the deal with Vic Vega?

Jumping out of the Bronco once I got it parked in front of Shorty's, I danced my way to the front door as I mentally sang along with the music in my head. Flashing lights caught my eye and I turned to look down the street at the black Explorer that sat two blocks down. I waved as I opened the door and stepped inside, smiling because I knew they thought I was crazy for dancing through the parking lot.

Shorty waved me over to the bar as I stepped in and handed me a glass of Pepsi with a smile. He always seemed to be prepared for me, though I think that Brett sitting at the end of the bar probably had something to do with it. I said 'Hi' to those that I knew as I made my way towards the back of the bar where I had spotted Vic in the far corner booth, his back to the door. Looks like he was going to need some serious training and I could at least help with this one small thing.

"Get up," I said as I stopped at the edge of the booth.

His light brown eye brows shot up as he smiled up at me.

"Lesson number one as a RangeMan is to never have your back to the door," I said as I lightly took his arm and pulled him out of his seat. I maneuvered him around the end of the table and pushed him down on the other bench. "It's preferred to have your back to a wall, that way no one can sneak up on you."

"You don't follow this rule?" he asked as I sat down across from him, my back to the door.

"I put my faith in those around me," I said after I took a drink of my soda. "Besides, I'd see you reaching for the gun in the back of your pants and duck down as I pull mine."

"It doesn't bother you that I'm illegally carrying?" Vic asked as he leaned forward and started turning his Bud in circles.

"It only bothers me if you don't know how to use it," I said with a light laugh. "However, I already know that you do know how to use it, so I think I'm safe for the moment."

"For the moment," he agreed.

Once again, I saw a slightly smug smile cross his lips and I had to hold myself back from asking about it. We fell into a relaxed conversation, but the smile still lingered. He told me about the final heist that had landed him in jail and how he had come to terms with what he had gone through in his childhood that had led him down the road to Nice Guy Eddie.

My Spidey-Senses were still going off throughout the night. But, the longer that I sat with him and the more he talked, it lessened to a low hum. All in all, we got along great. He was funny and intelligent. More of an open book then any of the guys ever were. It was the subject of women that he seemed to shy from.

"You're an attractive man," I said sincerely. "You just have to give yourself some time. Get back into the working force and let things flow for a bit. There has to be someone out there that won't think that people can't change."

"I don't think that you totally get it," he said unsurely.

"I think I understand more then you know," I said as I threw a piece of crust on the tray and waved my hands in defeat. "Look at the guys from RangeMan."

He waved me on as he took a big bite of pizza.

"They have got to be the greatest bunch of guys that I've ever met," I continued on. "They all have degrees in one field or another, some with more then one. They all have hearts of gold and are completely loyal to each other. But, Tank's the only one that's even been able to keep a long term girlfriend. Women have a hard time seeing past the outside and seeing what's inside. Trust me, if I lacked all of the self respect that I've managed to hang on to, I would have thrown myself at any one of them by now."

My face instantly heated as I remembered that there was a mic in my corset. This conversation was definitely going to cause a few problems back at work. A jealous Ranger and Lester with that little bit of info could be dangerous. Better not to think about it and straight out deny that I ever said it.

"I wish that there were more of you out there," Vic finally said after he swallowed the words that I had said. "You're the most different person I've ever met. You haven't judged me, even after I told you about all of the shitty stuff that I've done. You aren't afraid of me, even though most people might say that you should be. And you don't treat me like I'm a lesser person for the things that I've done. How is it that none of the guys have swept you off of your feet and promised you happily ever after before riding off into the sunset?"

"Because I'm not as smart as you think I am," I said with an eye roll. "I've spent roughly the last four years of my life only giving half of my heart to a man that didn't deserve any of it."

He cocked an eyebrow at that and waited for me to explain.

"My life is a disaster," I said with a sigh. "I'm a bounty hunter when I don't work for Ranger. Since I started doing that, I've managed to blow up several buildings and cars. Not to mention that I have a stalker on a regular basis."

"Is that the reason for the two guys at the pool table and the one at the bar?" he asked warily.

"Yeah," I said with a small grin. "I've managed to get a big one this time that we still don't have a lead on. Until we figure out who he is and grab him, I've got twenty-four hour guards."

"That'd get old pretty quick for me."

"I think it amuses the guys," I said with a shrug. "It gets them off of whatever they've been doing and I let them eat whatever they want to without telling them that it'll kill them or ratting them out to Ranger."

My phone chirped from my pocket and I pulled it out to see what the incoming message said.

__

Babe.

I was once again amusing. It gave me a slight tingling sensation in my gut instead of getting annoyed. I grinned as I replied and typed in _Not my fault _before sending the message back. I glanced at the time before I closed my phone and slid it back into my pocket.

"It was really nice being able to sit down and chat with you for a bit," I said as I scooted out of the booth, stretching my arms above my head as I stood. "But, I have a surveillance shift that starts in thirty minutes, so I have to get back to the office."

"How'd I do?" he asked as he threw some bills down on the table and stood.

"What do you mean?" I asked as we started walking towards the door.

"This little interview," he said smiling down at me. "Do I get the job?"

"This wasn't an interview," I chuckled. "My conversation with you tonight will have no bearing on weather or not you get hired by RangeMan."

"Then why did we met up?" he asked, his eyebrow converging as he frowned down at me.

"I like getting a feel for the guys," I said with a shrug as I stopped at the Bronco. "You're the first guy to be brought on in a while and I wanted to sit down with you and get a feel on what you were like. Worst case scenario, I just got a free dinner."

He chuckled as he opened my door and helped me slid in.

"It was a pleasure, Ms. Plum," he said with a bow.

"Indeed, Mr. Vega," I smiled as I bowed slightly before he shut my door.

My phone rang as soon as I got out of the parking lot, lights from the black Explorer pulling up behind me. I sighed heavily as I reached into my pocket and retrieved my phone.

I skipped looking at the caller ID and just put it to my head as I said, "Hire him."

"What made you change your mind?" Ranger asked, amusement clear in his voice.

"I'm thinking that it just might have been his past that set me off," I shrugged. "He seems like an alright guy and the longer I sat there, the less the feeling got."

"We're going to run him on a trial basis to see how things go."

The line went silent and I thought for a moment that he had hung up on me. Before I pulled the phone away to check, Ranger spoke up.

"Is there a reason why you are working tonight?"

I sighed. "You can't change my schedule on me like that. You should know that stuff like that is showing favoritism. If you start doing stuff like that, then the guys are not going to take me seriously. I need them to treat me like an equal, just like I need you to."

He was silent for another moment before he said, "That sounds fair."

"Breakfast tomorrow morning would be nice though," I suggested as I pulled into the garage. "We could meet up in your apartment once my shift is over."

"Sure, we can do that."

There was another long pause and then he said, "Bye."

I was so shocked that I couldn't come up with a response before he disconnected the call. I looked down at my phone with my jaw touching my chest and just couldn't believe it. He had actually said 'Bye'! I looked around the garage to see if I had fallen into an alternate universe, but everything looked normal. Some things are just too bizarre for words.

With that thought, I jumped out of the Bronco and made my way towards the elevators. Maybe a shift with Cal could give me some perspective on what's been going on lately.

****

12. Surveillance

If I wasn't living it, I'd never believe it. And everything had been going so well today. Ranger had dropped his walls and let me in. We had incredible sex. Free dinner and decent conversation with a new hire. And then…

I really thought that a surveillance shift with Cal was going to go smoothly. We were supposed to be watching a small brick row house a few streets over from my parents' house. The house belonged to Leanne Porter. She had posted the house as bond for her long time boyfriend, Edward Norton. Norton had been arrested for armed robbery, evading arrest, resisting arrest, and carrying concealed. It must not have been Norton's day.

Cal and I pulled up a few houses down the street and started our shift of boredom. Things where quiet for a while and we just did some small chat while we stared at the house. Who knew that Cal liked origami. He made me several little animals out of napkins from the glove box. I was very impressed with the giraffe.

So, anyway, right around one in the morning, we saw several lights go on in the house and movement on the first floor. Binoculars plastered to our faces, we both watched Norton run around the living room in stunned silence.

"We have to get closer," Cal said.

I looked over at him to see if he had managed to lose his mind in the thirty seconds that we had been watching the house. The large grin that was plastered to his face told me that he had indeed lost his mind. I didn't want to go anywhere near the house. This had 'Bombshell Catastrophe' written all over it.

In the end, Cal won and we exited the Explorer to get closer to the house. Cal cited that if Norton ran out of the house then we could nab him and I couldn't really argue with getting an FTA if the opportunity presented itself. We should have stayed in the SUV though.

After creeping across the street, we both hid behind a late 90's Chevy Cavalier and waited to see what was going to happen. After watching Norton run around the living room a few more times, he finally ran out the front door and ran into the front yard.

At that moment, his outfit hit us both full force. Cal, trying really hard to keep a straight face, started inching out from behind the car as he pulled out a pair of cuffs and his stun gun. He was evidently feeling rather confident that Norton wasn't armed at the moment and figured that the stun gun would work out well.

I'm not exactly sure what happened over the next sixty seconds. Everything is still a giant blur and I only have fractured pieces of the ensuing scuffle. The ending result was what I was going to have a hard time explaining.

Cal was laying on the grass in the yard, unconscious with a head wound and his left leg looked like it was on backwards. Norton, his black corset and matching thong laying several feet away, was out for the count just a short distance from Cal as I sat on him.

"Babe?" Ranger said as he climbed out of an Explorer with Bobby a few minutes later.

"I told Cal that getting out wasn't a good idea," I whined. "This is so not my fault, Ranger."

"Explain."

"I can't," I said with a shrug as I threw my hands up. "It's all just one giant blur."

"I think he just whacked his head really hard," Bobby said as he flashed a pen light in Cal's eyes. "Probably wouldn't hurt to have an x-ray done just to be on the safe side."

"Lester and Binkie are three minutes out," Ranger said as he picked me up off Norton. "How about we get Norton down to the poky?"

"The poky?" I giggled.

"Babe," Ranger said, the corners of his lips twitching.

Lester and Binkie climbed out of their Explorer and walked over to the yard. A hysterical laugh bubbled up and escaped before I could get my hand over my mouth. Questions were going to start flying as soon as someone got Norton up. And Lester was walking right for the skip.

"Dr. Frank-N-Furter?" Lester said once he got Norton to his feet.

Another hysterical giggle from me before mock horror etched its way across my face. "What have you done to Brad?"

Norton's eyes locked with mine as a grin crossed his lips. "Nothing. Why, do you think I should?"

"Babe?" Concerned lines appeared between Ranger's eyebrows.

"It's just a jump to the left," I said as I jumped.

"And then a step to the right," Norton sang as we did just so.

"With your hands on you hips," I added, doing the movement.

"You bring your knees in tight," Norton sang.

A collect gasp echoed around us as Norton and I thrust our hips and sang, "But it's the pelvic thrust that really drives you insane."

"Babe," Ranger's strangled voice broke into my college flashback, abruptly ending it.

"Sorry," I whispered as I dropped my hands to my side.

Ranger finally took charge of the situation and send everyone scurrying. Bobby and Lester got the still unconscious Cal into one of the Explorers and headed to the hospital. Binkie took the half naked Norton, still wearing fish net thigh highs and FMPs, to the cop shop.

We watched as everybody left before Ranger steered me over to the last Explorer. A small smile twitched at the corners of his lips, but he kept whatever was funny to himself. More than likely it was just my recent antics.

The ride to RangeMan was silent. As was the ride up to the seventh floor. He opened the door to his apartment for me and gently nudged me in. Once inside, I found myself pinned to the door as he closed it.

"Tell me, Babe," he whispered, his lips a fraction of an inch from mine. "Is it the pelvic thrust," he whispered as his hips moved against mine, "that drives you insane?"

****

13. Bad Decisions

After the fiasco with Cal and Norton, Tank had suggested that I take Vic on my next surveillance shift. I had told him and Ranger that it was a bad idea since he hadn't been through any of their training courses. But, they had both insisted that it would be a learning experience for Vic. Plus, they were sending me out to watch Alexander Ramos. Nothing ever happened when I was sent out to watch Ramos. Well, other then trips to get cigarettes.

So, here we sat, in a black Explorer just down the street from Ramos' compound in Deal. There had been no traffic in or out and my ass was starting to fall asleep.

"Is it always this quiet?" Vic asked, his voice startling me enough to jump.

I shot a glare in his direction when he let out a soft chuckle. "Usually bullets fly and sometimes there are explosions."

"Really?" he asked, amusement plastered over his face. "A little thing like you can cause that much trouble?"

"It's not like I go looking for trouble," I said with a shrug. "It just has a way of finding me."

"I was surprised when Ranger and Tank let me take you out with a stalker sniffing around," Vic said idly as he played with the switch blade in his hand. "One would think that a man like Ranger would take better care of those that he keeps close to him."

"I don't need Ranger to take care of me," I said slightly miffed. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Really?"

I looked back over at Vic and saw something dance across his eyes. My Spidey-Sense immediately started going off as my stomach dropped into the pit of my stomach. My eyes flew down to the switch blade in his hand as he stopped moving. The blade was completely out, the handle fisted tightly in his hand. My mind started racing, but I already knew that it was too late.

Horror flooded my body as I watched the blade fly up in the air. He caught it, with the blade coming out back towards me, then swung his arm back. A scream was ripped from my lips as the blade sliced through my shoulder, going all the way through and imbedding itself in the back of the seat. I caught a faint sizzle over the blood rushing through my head before everything went black.

My eyes flickered open and focused on the wall on the other side of the small room. Standard grey brick. Hundreds of buildings in the Trenton area were made of them. Four grey brick walls, concrete flooring, one steel door being the only route out, wooden support beams running over head. If I weren't shackled to the wall with a gag in my mouth, then I might have been able to find a way out of here. The one good thing is that I was still alive. So, there was still hope.

****

14. Captive

__

Steph's POV

For being captive, I have to say that it isn't too bad. Vic managed to bandage my shoulder nicely and I know that there are pain meds coursing through my veins by the slight buzz I have. He has me shackled to the wall, but it's lose so that I have room to move. Not much room, but enough to change my position when my ass starts to hurt.

__

Hal's POV

"This is beyond bad," I said as I stared down at the GPS unit on the ground. I looked over at Vince and his blank face. "I'll flip you for the call in to the com room."

Vince pulled a quarter out of his pocket and flipped it up in the air as he called 'heads'. I caught the quarter and slapped it down on the back of my hand. Our eyes locked for a brief second before we looked down at my hand. Tails. Vince sighed heavily as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Bomber's missing," Vince said into his phone. "Hal and I were here to relieve her and Vic for the morning shift and found the GPS unit to their Explorer on the ground were they had been parked."

His head bobbed several times before he finally said, "Be there in ten."

"Back to the office?" I asked as he closed his phone.

"Yeah," he said as he pulled a set of latex gloves out of his pocket and grabbed the unit off the ground. "Brett said to bring this back for prints. At this time, we are assuming that Stephanie and Vic have been taken by her stalker."

"Does she have a unit on her person?" I asked as we walked back to our Explorer.

"I'm guessing not by the amount of cursing that Brett was doing."

The ride back to the office wasn't filled with the constant yammering that Vince normally did while he drove. I had a feeling that several people were going to have altered personalities for the next few hours.

__

Ranger's POV

"I'm going to wake up in a minute, right?" I asked Tank after he finished relaying the message from Brett. The look on his face told me that it was just wishful thinking on my part for this to be just a bad dream. I locked myself down and turned to my training. "What do we know?"

"Her last call-in was at two hundred hours," Tank said as he followed my lead. "She had reported that all was quiet and that she hadn't made Vic go insane yet. Hal and Vince were their replacement for the six hundred shift change. When they arrived, they found the Explorers GPS unit on the ground where they had been parked all night. We are currently assuming that they are both alive and have been taken by Stephanie's stalker."

"I knew that it was a bad idea to send her out with a new employee who hadn't been properly trained," I said as I ran my hand through my hair, pulling out the leather tie in the process. "Was there anything else at the scene?"

"Negative."

"Who do we have in the field?"

"Hal and Vince are on their way back," Tank said as he looked down at a clip board that he held in his hand. "Cal is the only employee bound to the office at this time. Lester, Ram, Bobby, and Binkie were on last night, but are still waiting on word before they leave. They said that they are here if they are needed."

"Everyone is needed," I said quietly as I started to formulate my plan. "Get everyone in the conference room in ten minutes."

"You got it," Tank said as he turned and walked out of my apartment.

I turned back to the large window in my living room that looked out on the street. My Babe was out there, alive. I could feel her out there, in pain. She's strong, I thought to myself as I turned from the window to head to the shower. We've always found her in time before. We will again.

__

Steph's POV

The sound of someone walking over head roused me from the light sleep that had taken over. I shook my head a few times to try to clear the haze of sleep as I listened to the person walking around over head. Just remain calm, I thought to myself. Do everything that Vic says and bide your time. Either he will get sloppy or Ranger will find me.

I heard a door open and close before foot steps coming down a set of stairs. The door across the room slowly opened and Vic walked in. He held a long garment bag over his shoulder and a large plastic bag in his other hand.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he smiled down at me and removed my gag. "Is your shoulder causing you any pain?"

"I'm a little stiff from sitting on the floor," I said quietly. "But, otherwise, I feel fine."

"That's good," he said as he sat the bag on the floor and hung the garment bag on the door. "I was concerned that I had given you too much morphine."

"I was a little loopy the first time I woke up," I said as I watched him kneel down and open the bag on the floor. "But, I feel better after I got a little more rest."

"I do have to apologize for your current accommodations," he said as he looked over and smiled at me. "I wasn't completely ready for all of the plans that I had for you."

"It's okay," I said trying to play into the situation. "If you need more time, I'll be fine as long as I can use a bathroom soon."

"That won't be necessary," he said as he turned back to the bag. "The only thing that wasn't ready was this room. Once we get you changed, the plan can go forward. I promise that I'll make this as painless as possible for you."

"I'm sure that you will," I said slowly, the gravity of the situation setting in. Things were definitely not in my favor.

****

15. The Dress

Vic took his time unloading the bag on the floor. He neatly lined up all the items. White, two-inch, pumps. Beige thigh highs. White lacy garter belt with matching bra and thong. Why did I have a feeling that Vic didn't buy all of this for a date? My eyes followed his movements as he slowly stood up and pulled the garment bag open. Crap. White dress.

"This dress wouldn't have been my first choice," Vic said as he stood back and frowned at the dress. "The lines are all wrong. But, I didn't have enough time to shop since I grabbed you early."

Vic is insane. I could have handled delusional, but not insane. He was a dreamer. He had probably spent hours upon hours thinking about how this was going to happen. As crazy as it sounds, I was a little sad that it wasn't going to be the way that he had completely envisioned it. All that wasted time.

"Do you think that you can do this on your own?" Vic asked as he turned back around and looked down at me. "Or will you need some assistance?"

I looked back over the dress and knew without a doubt that it was going to be a two person job with my injured shoulder, the bra too. Crap. I was hoping that we'd never get to him seeing me that naked. Worst case scenario, I'd have rather rushed him and chanced injury over him seeing me in less than anything I was wearing. But what I really needed was more time. More time to think about how I was going to get out of here without getting myself killed.

"I'm going to need help," I finally said with a sigh.

"I was afraid of that," he said as he frowned down at me. "I really wanted this to go well. It's not the way that I had planned, but I thought we'd be able to stick as close to my plans as possible. You not being able to dress yourself deviates too far off course for me. Are you sure that you can't dress on your own?"

"You stabbed me in the shoulder, Vic," I said as I frowned back. "Did you really think that I'd have full use of that shoulder while you were patching me up?"

"I guess not," he said with a hint of defeat in his voice. "This simply won't due. I'd rather do this sooner then later. What if I dope you up?"

"That might cloud my mind too much to be able to get myself dressed," I said as I shook my head slowly.

"And then I'd have to wait for them to wear off," he said as he followed me shake with his own. "I'd like you to be as sober as possible for all of this."

"I think that you might have to give me a day or two," I said quietly. "At least give me enough time to let my shoulder heal some more and get it to work better."

"You're right," he said as he turned back around and started packing the clothes back up.

Could it really be that simple for him? Did things really have to be that perfect? Was it so against his vision to see me naked before his plans were to that point? I guess either way it really didn't matter. The only thing that did was that it bought me more time. Time to try to get out of here. Time for Ranger to find me.

**__**

Ranger's POV

"Talk."

All four men in front of me flinched at my harsh tone. Stephanie had been missing for almost twenty-four hours and at the last briefing, we still had nothing.

"I've been tracking credit cards and cell phones for both Vic and Stephanie and nothing has shown any movement," Binkie said after a moments hesitation. Poor bastard was the first one to give me bad news.

"We convinced the neighborhood that they were in and no one remembers seeing the Bronco or Steph and Vic," Lester said next.

"I ran another back ground search on her recent FTAs and still haven't run across anyone who was this much of a lose cannon," Hal said as he winced at the look on my face.

It's not my fault that Steph missing was wearing me thin. It reflected in the fact that I just couldn't seem to keep my blank face in place. I could fell the rage rolling off of me as they kept telling me the same thing that they told me an hour ago. Why couldn't we find her?

"We'll find her, Ranger," Tank said quietly.

"That's a nice thought, Tank," I growled back. "But I'm not going to fell any better until I have her in my arms. She's the only thing that matters to me right now. I don't care what you have to do to find her. Offer up rewards, bring out the brass knuckles, shoot people. Right now, my moral code is out the window. I want her found. Now."

"Is that an order?" Lester asked after a moment.

"Direct."

"I'm on it," he said with a nod and then vanished out the door.

Binkie and Hal just stood there for a moment before they both nodded and then walked out, leaving Tank alone with me. We stared at each other for a minute before Tank reached back and closed the door. And here it comes. The are-you-sure-about-this speech.

"Are you sure about this?" Tank asked.

See.

"I'm positive," I said as I leaned back in my chair and stared up at the one man that knew exactly what was going through my mind.

"The order has been given, but they haven't left yet," Tank said after giving me a hard look. "You can still stop it."

"No, I can't," I said quietly. "I need her back, Tank."

"She's not just a piece?"

"No."

"Okay."

Tank turned abruptly and walked out of my office, closing the door firmly behind him. I looked down at the contracts on my desk and pushed them back. I couldn't look at them when I had just done the one thing that I had promised myself I was never going to do again. I could only pray that Stephanie would forgive me for doing this.

****

16. Direct Orders

__

Ranger's POV

Twenty minutes later, I found myself in the closet next to my office on five. The two men standing in front of me were sporting the same blank face that I was except that they both had a slight twinkle in their eyes. A twinkle from the anticipation of what was to come.

Hector and Brett had an unspoken agreement with me when they signed their contracts to work for my company. I was the only one who knew what they were truly capable of and we had left it that way for a reason. I wasn't sure how the rest of the guys would feel if they knew what these two had done in their previous lives. I wasn't really that comfortable with it myself.

"Are you sure about this?" Hector asked.

"Yes."

"This may change things," Brett said quietly.

"I know."

"Is she really worth all of this?" Hector asked as he leaned against the door and eyed me.

"She's worth everything that I have," I reassured.

They exchanged a look and then both nodded their agreement.

**__**

Ram's POV

I can't believe it. I've found it! All of it. I quickly hit the save button as I jumped up from my chair, knocking it to the ground in my haste. I scanned the main floor of the office and spotted Ranger, Brett, and Hector walking down the hall from Ranger's office. He was going to kiss me for this.

"Ranger!" I shouted over the my cubby wall. "I think I've got them!"

He froze mid step and looked slowly over at me.

**__**

Steph's POV

Now that I'm alone, I still don't know what I'm suppose to do. I'm still shackled to the wall and no one knows where I am. My situation is not improving. It's just flat lining with no end in sight. Wait. There is an end. It ends when I get that dress on and Vic does whatever it is that he believes he has to do.

Feet shuffled over head, a door opened and closed, then silence filled the rest of the house. The silence was deafening and it was going to be harder to keep track of time with no one around to make noise. I repositioned myself and tried to get comfortable for my next long wait. Lord only knows how long he's going to be gone for this time. It'd be great if he at least brought something to eat back.

**__**

Ranger's POV

"Jason Schuyler," Ram said as he stood at the front of the conference room. He hit a couple of keys on a lap top and brought up a picture from a police file. "Mr. Schuyler has been linked to several rape and murder investigations. However, the police have never been able to link him close enough for a warrant or arrest."

"Hurry up, Ram," I said as I waved my hand in the air.

"I was looking through Vic's phone records and found a number repeatedly up until four days ago," Ram said after a small nod. "I traced the number to Schuyler. I dug a little deeper and found that Vic and Schuyler are never more then twenty miles from each other. Including their houses."

I watched Ram pull up schematics of a house. "Around the time that Schuyler purchased his house just outside Trenton, he hired a small contractor to add a room to his basement. It's a five by six room completely made of brick and concrete. A few months later, girls started going missing."

"Why haven't we heard about this?" I asked as I felt my anger start to bubble back up to the surface.

"He was only taking prostitutes," Ram said with a shrug.

I looked at the only other two men in the room. I gave them a small nod and they nodded back. Without anything being said, they both turned and slipped out the door. I looked back over at Ram and he knew that he was being dismissed.

Now, I just had to wait.

****

17. The Rescue

__

Steph's POV

A creak in the floor above me brought my head up from my knees. I was use to the house making small sounds as it settled. But this was more of a weight baring creak. Someone was in the house that hadn't been there ten minutes ago. I didn't remember hearing any doors open.

Another creak came from the stairs on the other side of the door. Some one was coming. I squeezed myself into a tight ball in the corner that I had scooted over to. My heart was in my throat as the lock slide into the door. Black dots stayed popping up in the corners of my eyes as the door slowly opened.

**__**

Brett's POV

She had huddled herself so far in the corner that I had almost missed her. I slid my Glock back into the holster at my back after I swept the room one more time. She flinched and curled further into the corner as I stepped closer to her.

"Steph, it's me, Brett," I whispered as I took another step closer.

Her head snapped up and her eyes instantly began to swim with unshed tears. She muffled something under the gag in her mouth but quieted as I put a finger to my lips. I quickly walked to her side and dropped to the floor. Within seconds, I had the cuffs off her wrists and her cradled to my chest. Her shoulders shuddered as she took a deep breath and released it.

The sound of a distant car door closing made us both tense.

**__**

Hector's POV

The sound of a car door closing brought my attention to the front of the house. I pulled out my silencer as I finished sweeping the living room and dining room. A quick look out the front windows told me that there was just one man outside, pulling bags from the trunk of a black Acura. I did what I always do. I slid into the shadows and disappeared. Brett would keep her down stairs until I cleared everything else.

The front door unlocked and slowly opened, bags crinkling as they passed through the narrow doorway. I watched as Vic walked into the small hallway that lead to the back of the house. He turned back and shut the door, leaving it unlocked. So very stupid.

**__**

Vic's POV

She'll be so pleased that I remembered she loves Tasteycakes.

**__**

Steph's POV

A heavy thud echoed from the ceiling above us. I looked up at Brett and he just stared at me. His eyes were vacant of all emotion as he gripped my arms and pulled me up off the floor. He pulled me close to his back as he maneuvered us out of the small room to the stairs.

He looked down at me and whispered the strangest thing I've ever heard_. "Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down."_

I nodded because that was all I could think to do. He positioned himself in front of me and we stood there, waiting. The door at the top of the stairs opened and someone whistled down to us. Brett took that as a cue and started walking up the stairs with me right behind him.

Hector stood like a sentinel at the top of the stairs. He looked down at me briefly before he went back to scanning the silent house. Brett kept me close to his back as he moved us to the back door, Hector glued to my back. I had a weird feeling that this was something that the two of them had done before.

We got out the back door and quickly flew down the short staircase. Brett led us into a small wooded area behind the house. The trees quickly gave way to a dirt road where a black Explorer was parked. Hector climbed behind the wheel and Brett climbed in the back with me.

"What did that mean?" I whispered to Brett once the vehicle started moving.

"It's a code that Hector and I live by," Brett whispered back as he turned to me and started looking at my wrists. "If we ever say that phase to anyone…"

"What?" I asked after he fell silent.

He peeled away the bandage on my shoulder as he said, "We stop at nothing to keep them safe."

"Where's Ranger?" I asked after a moment.

"He's at the office," Hector said quietly from the front seat.

"Why isn't he here?" I asked as I looked up and met his eyes in the rear view mirror.

"We do the things that he can not," Brett said.

"There was nothing legal about what we just did," Hector added.

The rest of the ride back to Haywood was silent. The three of us left with our own thoughts.

****

18. Coming Home

I was never one for the sappy ending of the movie where the girl runs to the guy and throws herself at him, then the ultimate kiss to end everything. But that's exactly what happened.

As soon as Hector brought the Explorer to a stop in the garage, I had the door open and was running to Ranger. I launched myself at him and our lips met in a bruising kiss. Our tongues dueled as our bodies melted together. A groan escaped my throat as he lightened the kiss.

He pulled back from me and said, "I will unleash the hounds from hell in order to find you every time you go missing so that you will safely return to my arms."

I looked over at Hector and Brett as they stood at parade rest next to the Explorer. They were his hounds from hell and I think I always knew that. It must have cost them all a great deal to do what they had done for me today.

I nodded at the two men and they both turned to take the stairs back up to the offices. I turned back to Ranger and gave him a smile.

"I love you, Carlos," I whispered.

"I love you Stephanie," he whispered back and then kissed me.

****

The End


End file.
